An Always Pure Princess
by umeRi87
Summary: I made a character that falls in love with George, but is Sirius' daughter. Big uh-oh! Will the love be strong enough for Alina to tell George who her dad really is? DUN DUN DUN!  Eventual epic WAFFiness
1. Memories

**Heya, peoples! Alina Taylor (Black) is Sirius' daughter, and ends up falling for George. Her alias is a Muggleborn, and will she ever tell George that Sirius is her real father? Set in the 5****th**** book.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any Harry Potter stuff, all rights go to J.K. and Warner Bros, 'cause if I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing this!**

"Alina! Come here!" I heard my father calling to him from his bedroom. I descended a flight of stairs, past my grandmother's portrait that would forever hang in Number 12 Grimmauld Place, and walked through the door labeled "Sirius."

"Yea, Dad?"

"I can't believe this is your last year at Hogwarts," my father hugged me and said, "My little Alina is all grown up!"

"Dad, I'm seventeen. I'm not a child."

"I know, I know. Your mother would be so proud," he said and smiled. I thought about my mother and I fought back tears. She died shortly after Dad was sent to Azkaban.

"Dad, when is the Order getting here? It's the beginning of the summer. Shouldn't they be here already?"

"I told them I wanted some time to clean the place up, seeing as I've been away from it because I've been in Azkaban. They're coming tomorrow. Sweetie, I'm sorry, you'll have to go live with the Taylors again. The Order isn't ready to know that I have a daughter."

"Dad! You haven't told them?"

"Uh… no."

"Why not?"

"Like I said, they're not ready to know that I have a daughter!"

"Ugh…fine. I'll find a way around this. I guess I wasn't Sorted into Slytherin for nothing." My father gave me a disapproving look.

"Dad, you know I wanted to be in Gryffindor!"

"Then you should've told the Hat that."

"How was I supposed to know it took my choice into account? Whatever; I'm going to pack." I walked out of his room, fuming. I started throwing stuff into my Hogwarts trunk, emblazoned with my fake name and the Slytherin coat of arms. I tried to think of a way to get out of going to the Taylor's. They were nice people; they took me in while Dad was in Azkaban. But they're Muggles, and live down the street. I would always try to escape the house in the middle of the night and run back to my house. It reminded me of good times with my mother, before she died. I knew my father was Sirius, because I had lived with him and my mother until I was two, but didn't remember much of him. He was carted off to Azkaban, and my mother died a short while after that. We were always friendly with the Taylors, so when my mom died, they were the first people I ran to.

They cared for me like a daughter, and it helped that their daughter, Emily, was my age. But there was always something missing. That was why I frequently tried to run away; I thought going back to my house would bring my family back. I made it to my front door once, and sat on the front stairs. I was the only person for blocks that could see the house, and when Mr. Taylor came and found me, he saw me sitting against a wall, crying my eyes out. All he saw was a five-year-old little girl, wanting her mommy and daddy back. I wouldn't go back to his house with him, and tried pulling on the doorknob. He saw me trying to push a wall. I tried to tell him that there was a house there, but he just didn't understand. He eventually picked me up and carried me back to the Taylor house.

I grew up there; they helped me get to the Hogwarts express for five years, after Professor McGonagall came and told me that I was a witch. The summer before my fifth year, I learned that my father had escaped from prison, and I was excited, yet terrified that he might not remember me. He broke into the castle, and the whole school was horror struck, but I seemed like the only person that was glad that he was there, though I showed none of these feelings to anyone. He was then reunited with Harry, godfather to godson, and I was deeply envious. I was his daughter, after all. It then came time for summer break. I sought him out at our old home, and was very displeased to not find him. I resolved to watch the house, and I would know when he entered.

One day, I was awake around four A.M. It was a horrible and rainy day, and I saw a flicker of movement near the door. I ran outside and saw my father. I called to him, and he turned. He recognized who I was, even in the torrential downpour. He ran to me, hugged me, and said he was sorry, and never would leave me again. I was so happy to have some of my family back. He asked me where my mother was, and why I was at the Taylor's, and I had to tell him the truth. He took this like a physical blow.

"K – Kara's dead?" he stuttered. I nodded, and he broke down. I started living with my father again, and he became a bit over protective of me. Well, that's what fathers are for. I had filled him in on my life, and we never talked about Azkaban, except for the fact that there were dementors, and that I had to learn how to defend myself against them. He taught me the Patronus Charm, and mine took the form of a lion cub. He was very upset to learn that that was my Patronus and that I was in Slytherin. I told him I wanted to be in Gryffindor, and hated it in Slytherin, but it couldn't be changed. He seemed happier when I told him this, and was elated that I was the best of my year. He gave me a picture of my mother and myself that he had saved all through his time in Azkaban. He said it was the one thing that kept him alive; the thought that he had a family to come home to. I was looking at the picture in the middle of my packing when a plan hit me. I ran out of my room and found my dad in the kitchen, ordering Kreacher around.

"Dad!"

"Yes? What's wrong?" he asked as he took a step toward me.

"Nothing. But I figured out how I can stay with you as the Order is here!"

"I'm not letting you do anything dangerous; I can't lose you."

"Dad, it just involves us coming up with a cover story, which I've started thinking of."

"Alright, what's the plan?"

"We say that I am a distant cousin of yours, and since I'm school aged, I was getting into ideas that Dumbledore is right. My family threw me out, and you were the only family I could come to that understood me! Isn't it great?"

"Yes, but you're Fred and George's age. They know that you're in Slytherin, and what Gryffindor would believe that a Slytherin is good?"

"Dad, I hang out with Fred and George! They're my best friends! They came up to me first year after the feast, and said I looked really upset that I was in Slytherin, and asked what house I wanted to be in, and I responded with Gryffindor. We were best friends from then on."

"Well that makes this plan even better! Wait, what's your alias's blood status?"

"Shit…it's Muggleborn," I said, and my father looked at me with an angry face, "Sorry…I forgot…no cursing…"

"It's alright. What do we do now? No one will believe that you're my cousin; I'm pureblood."

"Uh, we could erase the memory of the real Taylors, and then I can give them the information. We could say that they're Muggles, but they understand that I needed to go into hiding from Voldemort. I saw this empty house, rang the bell for just a precaution, and you were here, and took me in."

"Great! And you're seventeen, so you can do it! I don't think it's a very good idea for me to go walking around London."

"Right; I'll be back." I walked out of my front door and took the short walk down the street towards the Taylor residence. I walked up to the front door and rung the bell. I didn't know who opened the door, because at that moment I was tackled with a hug and was sent reeling down the steps.

"Oh my God! Alina! I thought you died! You just disappeared and now returned two years later!" _Shit. I forgot I basically walked out on the Taylors…well this poses a problem…How could I be this stupid?_ I thought to myself, _Wait, it doesn't matter! I'm about to Obliviate them! Man, now I feel like an ass…_

"Emily, wow, great to see you. There's something I have to tell you. Well, your parents better hear this too." My childhood best friend looked at me worriedly. We walked inside and Emily called to her parents to come to the sitting room. I walked into the room in front of her, reminiscing about the times I spent here with her. It was odd to see Mrs. Taylor's bright and cheery sitting room, compared to the dank and dark Noble House of Black I had been living in for the past two years. I looked out to the back wall, where I had remembered from so many years ago, I was running away from Emily trying not to be tagged by her…

_My long black tresses flew behind me as I ran from my best friend. "I'm gonna get you, Alina!" I was running, and was coming up faster and faster to the wall. I knew I was too small to jump up to the ledge, but I figured that, since I was running at it, I might be able to catch the lip of the wall in my small hands. I remembered jumping, but the next moment I was soaring through the air, and landed on my feet on top of the wall. "Alina! How'd you do that?" "I don't know! I just jumped and landed up here! Try it!" My friend with the red hair and freckles tried to jump up, but failed miserably. I resolved that I had to get down from the wall. I was about to jump down when Emily said, "No, Alina! You'll hurt yourself! I'll get Daddy!" "It's alright, Emily; I'll be fine," I answered, and jumped from the wall. I braced myself for impact, but it never came. I floated down from the wall like a feather. "Alina, you have _superpowers_!" We giggled, and resumed our game of tag…_

I looked around the sitting room, tears in my eyes. I saw the small vase Emily and I once broke, and we had tried to hide it from her mother, but she found it. We had a scolding, and were sent to our room. That night, I snuck out of bed and found the broken vase still sitting were we had tried to hide it. I grabbed the pieces in my hands, and they magically put themselves back together. From that moment on, I knew there was something different from Emily and myself.

I remembered the day Professor Minerva McGonagall came to tell me that I was a witch. The Taylors weren't surprised, and I was really excited. McGonagall told me everything about the Wizarding World that I wanted to know, and that was when I figured out that was the one thing that set me apart from Emily and her family. At first, I thought it was great, but then I realized that it was one more thing that set me apart from a family, the thing I wanted most. It upset me greatly, and I even thought about not going to Hogwarts. Emily wouldn't hear of it, though. She knew how much this would mean to me, and talked me into going. I had promised to write every week, and I upheld that promise, until two years ago. I had met my father, and my life was put back together.

"Alina?" I snapped back to reality. I looked around confusedly, and remembered where I was and what I had to do. "Alina? Are you alright? Emily said you had something to say to us," Mrs. Taylor said quietly.

"Oh, yea. Right. Sorry, I sort of zoned-out for a minute there, heh," I said, embarrassed. _Wow, if I was part of a manga comic, I'd have that little sweat drop behind my head right now…_ "Yes. Well, then. Hi Mr. and Mrs. Taylor. It's great to see you guys."

"And you too, Alina. Now, what do you need?" I opened my mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Mr. Taylor.

"If you think we'll take you back after you disappeared for two years, then you're horribly mistaken."

"Frank! We don't even know what she needs!"

"_Obliviate_!" I said as I raised my wand, and the Taylors all had dazed looks about them. "Uh… I'm your daughter, Alina. You are Muggles, and I'm a witch. I went into hiding from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Goodbye." I walked out of the Taylor house and climbed the steps to mine. I strode down the hallway and into the kitchen where my father was.

"Did you do it?" I sat down next to my father, and Kreacher brought me some soup.

"Yes, and I feel horrible, Dad! These people were my family for most of my life! Hell, I'm a monster!" I started crying. My father took me in his arms, and I sobbed into his shoulder.

"No, you're not. Never call yourself that, Alina," he said and he wrapped me in a bear hug, the kind only daddies give, "You're not a monster. If you were anything like that bitch Bellatrix, I would've disowned you." I was shocked that my father cursed, and even more that he brought up his messed up family. I sat up and he laughed at my look of disbelief. He pushed back a strand of my hair as I sniffled.

"Yes, I know I cursed. I said you can't; that doesn't mean I can't. I _am_ the daddy here," he said with a smile. There was a long silence where I ate the soup that Kreacher had given me. It was New England clam chowder – my favorite. I had fallen in love with it on a trip to the U.S. with my dad. The funny thing was that I only got the soup when I was upset. I guess my dad knew I'd be upset and had Kreacher make some.

"You know, you really do look like her. Of course you have the bitch's hair and cheek bones, but the other ninety-eight percent of you is absolutely Kara." There was more silence while my dad looked lost in thought and I finished my soup. I looked over at the clock. It read 11:30 P.M. Had it really been four hours since I erased the Taylors' memories? I guess those silences lasted longer than I thought they had. I gave my father a hug and headed upstairs to bed. My trunk and various school things were scattered all around the floor. I was happy when I remembered that I didn't have to finish packing it. I moved it to a corner of the room and changed into my sweat pants and tank top. I walked into the bathroom, washed my face and brushed my teeth and threw my hair into a messy bun. I went and sat in my bed and picked up the picture of my mother and I. I got under the blankets and put my head on the extra squishy pillow.

The picture was of my mother holding me, only around the age of one, and spinning in circles and laughing at the camera, that I assumed was in my father's hands. I gazed at it, trying to forget that fateful day that my mother was taken from me forever. I couldn't get the images out of my head, though. I remembered that it was the middle of the night, and being two, I was in the room next to hers. I remember waking up and looking through the bars of my crib into her bedroom. One of the house elves had brought her some tea, and she took it from them before setting it down on the table next to her. She came to turn off the light in my room and walked back to her bed. I watched as she brought the tea to her lips, took a sip and then proceeded to shake uncontrollably. She foamed at the mouth, and the teacup fell from her hands with a crash to the floor. A house elf ran in, screaming about her mistress, and tried to help her, but it was no use. She was dead. The same house elf came into my room, and got me out of the crib. She walked me to the Taylors' front step, propped me up, and rang the bell. By this point, I was crying for my mother. I heard someone walk towards the front door, and by the time they opened it, the house elf was gone. I looked up at Mrs. Taylor's face, and she seemed to understand right away. From then on, I had lived with the Taylors, and Emily became my best friend. I felt like I had a family again.

My father walked into my room, and I put the picture on the nightstand. I hadn't realized until now that a single tear had fallen down my cheek.My father came and wiped it away, and picked up the picture. He smiled softly, and stared at it for a few minutes.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Alina?"

"Tell me the story of how you fell in love." He smiled and gave me a kiss on the top of my head. He pulled up a chair, sat on it, and took one last look at the picture before speaking.

"Well, as you know, we met at Hogwarts. Kara hated my guts for the stuff I did with James, Remus, and Peter. She hung with Lily Evans and her group. I had repeatedly asked her out, just as James did Lily, and we were both turned down – every time, I dare say. So we all left Hogwarts and I didn't see her for a while. One day, when I was in Diagon Alley, I saw her wandering around. She was really happy to see me – for once. Apparently, she had just gone through a horrible break up, and needed a friend.

"We spent the day together, and I ended up taking her home. We had dinner together, just as friends, and decided we should really do it again sometime. About a week later, I got an owl from her, asking if I wanted to meet up at The Leaky Cauldron. I hastily sent my reply with an eager yes, and Apparated then and there to the pub. She showed up minutes later, looking stunning as usual, and we got drinks. We caught up with each other, and after about two hours of drinks, I was broke and wasted. Tom kind of kicked me out, and I went home. I stumbled in the door and crashed.

"I woke up the next day with a wicked hangover. I somehow managed to get out of bed and took care of myself, feeling like an idiot. And Alina, if I _ever_ find you that drunk, you are dead," he looked at me sternly, but failed because I stared my father down, who cracked up laughing. He got over it and continued, "So I wrote an owl to her, apologizing for any of my drunkenness she had to witness. She wrote back and said that it was alright, and that I was 'quite enjoyable whilst drunk like no tomorrow.' Well, I decided that I had to see her again, as to redeem myself. I wrote her again and asked if she would like to have dinner with me. She said yes and from then on we were in love."

"Dad. That wasn't really _how_ you fell for Mum. When did you know you were in love?"

"Well, I guess that would be the same day that we met up in Diagon Alley. She had come to me, even though it was just as friends, I felt something more. And I eventually learned that she did too. So after a little while, we settled down, got married, and Kara had you."

"How did it happen?"

"Uh, haven't you already had that talk?"

"Dad! Not that! Ew! I do NOT want to think of my parents having – ergh! Eeeeew! DAD! I was talking about the proposal!"

"Oh… Sorry, Alina. I didn't know that was what you were asking about. I thought you were asking about –"

"DAD! SHUT UP!" I threw my pillow at him, and he just started laughing.

"Well, I proposed to your mother on New Year's Eve. Once again, I was totally wasted," he smirked, "I had bought the ring earlier that day. I was planning to propose to her in the last thirty seconds of the year, and then kiss her at midnight."

"Dad, you're a hopeless romantic!" I said with a smile.

"Yea… It didn't work out as I planned, though. You see, James got me completely and utterly trashed, so I had no idea what I was doing. It turned out that your mother was just as drunk as me; that was Lily's doing. I had apparently proposed to her and we did kiss at midnight, but we didn't know that until about five P.M. on January 1st. We woke up next to each other on New Year's Day, completely hung over, and completely confused. We were both working through the hangover, when she screamed, and when I say screamed, I mean SCREAMED – like bloody murder screamed."

"Wait, she screamed because she woke up next to you?"

"No, she said she wasn't surprised about that. She screamed because she finally noticed the ring on her finger. I said that looked like the ring I was going to give her, and that I had planned on proposing to her. She told me to check if I still had it, and I didn't. We went to Lily and James to find out if I did propose. Apparently, I had, and she accepted, and it was a very funny sight to watch me try and get off my one knee."

"Yea, that must've been interesting," I said with a yawn.

"So we decided to make it official, and I re-proposed, I guess you could say. It was in the middle of the Potter's living room. We got married shortly after, and decided to start a family. Then my Princess came into my life."

"That was a sweet story, Dad."

"Thanks. Now go to sleep; it's one in the morning, and we've got a busy day of lying our asses off tomorrow."

"Right. Night Daddy, I love you." I gave him a hug and turned out the light.

"Night, Princess. I love you too." I thought about the last time I had my whole family and drifted off to sleep.


	2. Kisses

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: Yea, I don't own any of the Harry Potter stuff other than the character Alina Taylor/Black. Otherwise, I'd be sitting filthy rich in a mansion on a beach somewhere, away from all the people that annoy me.**

I woke up the next morning to find my father asleep, with the picture of my mother and I clutched loosely in his hand. I silently slipped out of bed and covered him with a blanket. I walked out of my room, after checking the clock, which read 9:17. I crept downstairs, trying to keep as quiet as I could. I was reminded of the many Christmases with the Taylors, where Emily and I would wake up extremely early, trying to get to the presents before her parents did, and chuckled to myself as I remembered the futile attempts. I zoned out for a while, standing on the stairs, my hand gently gripping the banister. My mind came back to the present and I started walking toward the kitchen. I opened the door and was greeted by a loud crack, and must've jumped six feet in the air, before I realized that it was Kreacher.

"Holy shit, Kreacher! Give a girl some warning next time!"

"Kreacher is sorry, mistress. Kreacher heard his mistress upstairs, and he wanted to greet her."

"Oh. Okay, well just don't sneak up on me anymore. Hey, Kreacher. Can you get me two coffees please?"

"Anything for my mistress." He shuffled away, muttering about my beauty and how much I looked like 'Miss Bella.' I sneered, and he came back ten minutes later, and handed me two grimy looking cups of coffee. I took a sip, and almost gagged. I muttered a spell over it when Kreacher wasn't looking, and tasted it again. At least it didn't taste like mud anymore. I walked back upstairs, and got to my room. I picked up a book. I set my father's mug on the bedside table and sat down on my bed, reading and quietly drinking my coffee. My father finally stirred around 10:45, and looked very groggily around my room. He seemed to remember that he had fallen asleep there, and graciously picked up his coffee. He took a sip and smiled.

"Mm… Good coffee," he said with a strained face.

"Don't worry Dad; I didn't make it. Kreacher did, and let me tell you, this is an improvement. His tasted like sh- crap."

"Oh. Has Kreacher had a change of heart? Waking up and making us poison, is he?"

"No, unfortunately," I said with a smirk, "I asked him to make the coffee."

"He listens to you? That's a shock, considering that you're _my_ daughter. He never listens to me."

"It's weird, because Kreacher always says that he is 'proud to serve his mistress,' and then goes mumbling about 'Miss Bella,' like she's a goddess."

"He probably only serves you because you look like the bitch… He probably thinks that there is once again 'noble blood' in the house."

"That little pile of dung! I'm nothing like her!"

"I know you're not. You're my little princess. I hope you don't put pride in this family. 'Toujours Pur,'" he snorted, "what a load of dung."

"Dad, just for you, I'll marry a Muggle," I said with a smile.

"Alright, sweetie. Now, let's get ready for the Order! They'll be here in about," he said as he looked at the clock, reading 10:47, "ten minutes."

"Hey Dad? Don't you think people will be suspicious that I look like Bellatrix and that I'm in your house? I mean, if the Order knows what she looks like, won't _somebody_ make the connection?"

"Nah, you only look a bit like her. If I say so myself, I always liked my cousin's looks, but they look so much better on you. And Alina, you should probably start calling me Sirius; I think calling me Dad would be a bit of a giveaway."

"Right, D – I mean, Sirius. Wait, you said I look like Mum! What do we do now?"

"The mix of the bitch's looks and Kara's make you your own person. Now be downstairs in five minutes."

"Alright, remember the cover story!" I called as he walked out of the door, down to his room. Five minutes later, I was standing by the front door, with my father, waiting for the Order to arrive. The first one to ring the bell was Alastor Moody. He stumped through the door, into the wails of my grandmother's portrait. Dad gave him a quick handshake and ran upstairs to shut the curtains over the portrait. I welcomed him, and showed him to the kitchen. He didn't ask why I was there, but possibly he assumed my parents were part of the Order and were out and about or something; I didn't really know, but thought I shouldn't offer up the information. The next to arrive were six of the Weasleys. I showed them to their rooms, and then hung with Fred and George for a bit. Fred was sitting on his bed and I was sitting with George on his.

"So, Alina, why are you here?" George asked.

"I went into hiding. I lived down the street. I'm a Muggleborn, and I knew that would get me into trouble. For years, I've known that I could see this house, and that Muggles couldn't because, well my sister, Emily, couldn't. So, I decided to go into hiding two years ago, and went to this house. That way, I'd be harder to find and I could keep an eye on my family. When I walked up to the door, I rang the bell just as a precaution, and here Sirius was. I told him I needed a place to hide, and he welcomed me into his home."

"What happened to your family?" Fred asked.

"I erased their memories," I said as tears welled up in my eyes, "All they know now is that I'm a witch and I had to go into hiding from You-Know-Who." George put an arm around me, and Fred came to sit on my left side. I cried into George's shoulder and sat up when I heard Ginny and Ron walk into the room. I quickly wiped my eyes, plastering on a fake smile.

"Alina? What's wrong? Why are you here?" Ginny asked tentatively. I opened my mouth to speak, but since I'd been crying, no sound came out. Fred stood up and started walking around the room, while George slipped his arm down near my waist and told his sister for me.

"Well, she's gone into hiding as of two years ago, and she had to erase her family's memory to keep them safe."

"Oh, Alina, I'm sorry," she said as she took up Fred's empty perch.

"It's alright. It's better this way," I said softly, wishing I could tell them, and not feel the weight of even more guilt: lying to the Order and erasing the Taylor's memories.

"Yea, but not being able to see your family, well that's rough. I can't stand them sometimes, but I don't know what I'd do without my siblings," Ron said.

"Mum's calling us," Ginny said as the Weasley children started to leave the room.

"George, are you coming?" Fred asked.

"Yea, I'll be down in a minute. I want to show Alina one of our new pranks."

"Oh, alright. Don't show her all of them; I want to be there for some," he said and left the room. I felt George's arm tense as I tried to pull myself away from him.

"Um, can I stand, please?"

"Not until you tell me what's really wrong." I gave him a quizzical look.

"Alina, I'm your best friend; I know when something is bothering you. Now, I'm not letting go of you until you spill the beans." I pursed my lips together to show him I wouldn't say anything.

"Alright, we'll do this the hard way. I'm going to guess what's wrong. Let's see… Did Montague contact you again? If he did, and did anything to upset you, I swear I will beat him to a pulp and then feed it to a dragon." I laughed and told him that it wasn't that. He kept guessing, and he never came close.

"George, it's nothing; I promise. I was just sad about leaving my family, and there's nothing you can do to stop it."

"Fine." Our eyes locked, and I didn't notice our faces moving closer and closer together. We were almost touching; I could smell his shampoo; it smelled like an ocean breeze; I liked that. His hand moved onto mine, but he jumped back when Hermione came into the room.

"Oh, sorry," she said and blushed, "George, your mum wants you, and Alina, Sirius is looking for you. He's in the drawing room."

"Alright, thanks Hermione," I said with a smile. She took this as a dismissal and ran from the room, looking embarrassed.

"Well, I should go and see what my mum wants," George said sheepishly. He turned and started to walk from the room, and I grabbed his arm. I gave him a little peck on the cheek.

"You're the best friend a girl could have," I said softly. He looked dazed, and I smirked and walked out of the room. I walked into the drawing room, where I found my father inspecting the tapestry of the Black family tree. I softly closed the door, and walked toward him, when a thought hit me.

"Shit, D - Sirius! I'm still on there! What do we do?"

"Don't worry, Princess. I just burned a hole over your face, just like my mother did to me when I was sixteen."

"Okay, cool. Yay for outcasts!" I walked out of the room, and was pulled into the hall closet by Hermione.

"Ah! Alina! I'm so sorry! I interrupted yours and George's moment! I feel horrible!"

"What? Oh! No, it's alright Hermione. Seriously. It doesn't matter."

"Are you sure?"

"Yea, no problem, girl. Just eh, keep it between us."

"Um… I sort of told Ginny… who told Ron… who told Fred…"

"WHAT?" I threw my head back, which hit a shelf behind me, hard, and knocked some items to the floor. I grabbed the back of my head, "Shit, that hurt!"

"Ooh, that looked like it hurt. Let's go see Mrs. Weasley. She'll stop the bruising." We walked down to the kitchen, and found Mrs. Weasley fussing around, making lunch.

"Hello, dearies. Alina, what's wrong?"

"Ah, I just hit my head on a shelf. Can you do anything?"

"Of course! Here, sit down." She muttered some incantations over my head, and right then my dad walked into the kitchen.

"Oh my God, Alina! Molly, is she alright?" She nodded, finished her spells and came to face me.

"Now, Alina, if you feel any dizziness, come straight to me. You could have a concussion. You should probably stay sitting for a while. When you go to bed, have someone check on you every once in a while."

"Alright, but I don't think there's a need for that, Mrs. Weasley. Thanks for your help." I stood up and started walking up to my room.

"Alina, I'll walk you to your room, so you don't fall or anything," my dad said and walked me up to my room. We got into the room, and I sat on the bed. Dad closed the door to ensure we were alone.

"Dad, I'm fine. Stop fussing."

"Are you sure you're alright? How did this even happen?"

"Th – that doesn't matter."

"Yes, yes it does. You can tell me anything, Princess. I won't be mad. Please, tell me."

"Well, I was just hanging out with Fred and George when they asked me why I was here. So, I told them the cover story, and they believed it. Then, they asked me what happened to my family, so I told them that I had to erase their memories. At that point, I was crying, and George put his arm around me. Seconds later, Ginny and Ron came into the room, and I tried to hide that I had been crying, but they saw right through it. Ginny asked what was wrong, and George told her.

"Then, Mrs. Weasley called for her kids. Everyone but George and I left the room, because George said he wanted to show me one of their new pranks. At the point that everyone left, George and I were still sitting on the bed, his arm still around me. He tried to get me to tell him what was wrong, but I just said that I was missing my family.

"Well, we sat there, and we almost uh –" I looked at my father and smirked.

"You…?" my father paused, "Oh my God!" He turned and cast an Imperturbable Charm on the door and continued, "MY LITTLE GIRL IS TOO YOUNG FOR BOYS! AH! And his family is part of the Order! OH MY GOD!"

"Dad calm down! Nothing happened! Hermione burst in on us before we could kiss! I only gave him a-"

"Don't finish that sentence!" my dad roared. "Wait, finish it."

"Peck on the cheek," I finished. My father collapsed into a chair, holding his head in his hands.

"Wait, how did you hit your head? You didn't," he said with a horrified face.

"EW! GOD DAD! NO! After you told me that I was taken off the family tree, Hermione pulled me into the hall closet. She apologized for bursting in on us, and I said it was alright, and that it was better if it was just kept between her and me. She then told me that she had told Ginny, Fred, and Ron. I then freaked out, threw my head back, and hit it on a shelf."

"Oh. Well, I'll leave you to uh…your thoughts," he walked out of the room, and George snuck in after him. He took two strides to cross the room, and started freaking out.

"Oh my God. Hermione told me that you hit your head and that you might have a concussion. How many fingers am I holding up? Do you have any blurred vision?" He started checking everything inch of me.

"George. George! I'm fine. Stop, please stop," I said, grabbing his wrists.

"Right, sorry," he said, sitting down next to me. There was an awkward silence for a while, and I finally stood up and walked out of the room. Once again, I was grabbed by the arm, the door slammed behind me, and fervently talked to. Ginny, Hermione, Fred, and Ron were all jabbering away at me.

"Woah! Guys! Calm down. What's going on?"

"YOU AND GEORGE!" they all screamed.

"What? That was nothing!"

"You guys almost kissed! And you were just alone! How is that _nothing_?" Hermione said.

"Really, it was nothing. Yea, so we almost kissed, but that was _almost_. And two minutes ago, he was just checking to make sure I was alright. You guys would've done the same."

"Yes, we were worried about you, but we weren't freaking out like George was," Fred said, "He was like 'Oh my God, oh my God, ohmyGodohmyGodohmyGod. Do you think she's alright? What if something terrible happens? She's my best friend! I can't lose her! I wish I could do something!' Seriously, Alina. He was scared. I've never seen my brother like that."

"He was that concerned? Why didn't he just come and see me?"

"He wouldn't calm down enough to go talk to you. Eventually we just yelled at him to go," Ron said, "Hey, Alina. Why was Sirius in your room?"

"S – Sirius? What? Oh! He just wanted to make sure I was alright. You know, like a dad would do."

"Oh, well that makes sense… I have one question," Ginny said.

"Yea?"

"Are you and George dating?" All of our jaws hit the floor, either mine or Fred's the hardest.

"NO!" Fred and I both yelled. "What did you say?" "Me?" "What did _you_ say?" We said all of this at the same time, completely confused.

"Fred! How would _you_ know?" George came in and yelled, leaving the door wide open. He grabbed me by the waist from behind, and continued ranting at his twin, "How is it your business whom I do and do not date? I don't care about the girls you run around with!"

"That's a lie! You're always jealous. Why do you think I have a girlfriend and you don't? Don't deny it! You're _jealous_ of me!"

"Where in _bloody hell_ would you get that idea?"

"GUYS!" I broke free of George's grip, and stood between the twins, trying to keep them from killing each other. "Fred, we're _not_ dating," I said turning toward him, and then facing George, "And George, I don't even know what happened back in your room! I'm sorry that it happened, because look where it got us!"

"Alina," George said, looking straight into my eyes. I looked frantically from each of the people in the room. "I'm sorry about what happened. Let me make it up to you."

"And how will you do that?"

"By doing this," he said, and kissed me full on the lips. _Well_,_ that was spontaneous_, I thought, and I couldn't help kissing back.

"WHAT IN _HELL_ IS GOING ON HERE?" I backed away from George, completely terrified that my father just burst into the room.

"SHIT SIRIUS!" I yelled, my heart leaping with terror, and oddly, happiness. My father pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Alina, come help Molly and I prepare dinner. But first, I want you to help me clean out the cabinet in the living room." I nodded, and followed him out of the room. We got to the dusty living room, and he locked the door and put yet another Imperturbable Charm on it.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, KISSING HIM?"

"I didn't kiss him! He kissed me!"

"Lie. I saw you kissing him back."

"But that was _after_ he started kissing me." My father paused, trying to think of what to say next.

"Damn, you're good. Princess, why are you doing this to your father? You're aging me by the minute."

"Sorry Daddy. But you're little girl's all grown up."

"I know, I know. But really? George?"

"Dad!"

"What? He's just a prankster…"

"Yea, but he's _my_ prankster!" _Oh my God! What did I just say? _ My father looked at me, and a huge, devious grin spread across his face.

"You _like_ him. C'mon. Admit it," my father said, his grin getting bigger and bigger. I was blushing like crazy, and knew I couldn't talk my way out of this one. "Aw, my daughter's first crush!"

"Uh…not true…I dated Montague last year, and he's been trying to get me back ever since I broke up with him…"

"What? Princess, you have no taste. At least George is fun."

"Dad, please don't do anything. Don't say anything. Please."

"Fine, fine. I'll surrender – NOT," he said and ran from the room. The door was open, so I couldn't yell at my father; I had to yell at the sneaky Padfoot.

"SIRIUS! YOU'RE DEAD!" I sprinted from the room. He was cackling maniacally as he ran to Fred and George's room. I tripped on the carpet and fell. I stood up and as I was trying to round a corner, I slid into a wall. I found my father talking to George, all alone in his room. I ran into the room and side tackled my father.

"Shit, Alina! What was that for?" my father said with a smirk, and ran from the room. He slammed the door shut.

"Oh God, George… What did he say to you?"

"Alina, Lini. Sit down."

"Lini? How do you know that name?"

"Does it matter?"

"_How do you know that name?_"

"I – I heard Montague call you it one time, and I really liked it. It's cute, like you," he said with a laugh.

"Oh…well it sounds better coming from you than it ever did him." Once again, there was another awkward silence in which I looked around the room and George collapsed onto his bed.

"Lalalaaaa…"

"What the hell?"

"Oh sorry, George… thought I'd break the silence?"

"Good idea."

"So, what're the pranks that you and Fred made? Ooh, are these the Skiving Snack Boxes?"

"Oh yea, that one's a variety pack. You know, Fever Fudge, Puking Pastilles, Nosebleed Nougat, the works. Unfortunately, we haven't worked out the kinks in some of them…"

"Cool, well, we'll fix them. Fred said to include him in the fun, so I'll go get him," I said and walked toward the door. George looked a little let down, but I brushed it off. As I opened the door, five people scurried away.

"Oh my God. Were you guys listening to our conversation?" I said to Ginny, Fred, Hermione, Ron, and my father.

"No, no we weren't. What would give you that ludicrous idea?" Ron said.

"You were all listening at the keyhole!" I yelled, and George appeared at my side.

"Hey, did you get Fred? I want to show you the Extendable Ears… What the hell is going on here?"

"They were all listening at the effing keyhole!"

"WHAT?"

"I know, right?"

"Alina," my father started, "We didn't hear anything. You guys talk too quietly."

"So are you guys a couple yet?" Fred asked.

"NO!" I yelled and stormed off. I must've been making a lot of noise because my grandmother's portrait started screaming its head off. "SHUT UP!" I ran blindly through the house, and ended up in the drawing room, in front of the Black Family Tree. I saw the small little hole where my face and my father's was, and noticed that my mother never made it onto the tapestry. I looked over and found Bellatrix's face, my eyes burning with tears and ran out of the door. I slowed down to a walk, and sat at the top of a set of stairs. I heard Fred and George's voices wafting toward me from down the hall.

"Fred, I don't know what to do. I tried talking to Alina, but that amounted to nothing."

"Well, what do you feel?"

"I – I don't know. I'm confused, angry with myself, hurt, I DON'T KNOW! Gah! I hate this!"

"Calm down, mate. Take a breather."

"I can't calm down!"

"And why not?"

"I – I think I love her."

**A/N: So what do you guys think? Favorite, alert, and review, please! NO FLAMES!**


	3. Dance of Tears

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter stuff. All rights go to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. If I DID own it, I probably wouldn't be sitting outside J.K.'s house right now in a cardboard box, somewhere in Scotland. I don't even know where the frik I am!**

A month and some more passed by, and Harry had arrived and he had his hearing. Everyone had believed the cover story so far, and from what my father and I could tell, there were no suspicions. I still felt really bad for lying and confided in my father about this, which turned into a whole argument. I decided to stay away from the argument again until the night before we left for Hogwarts.

"Sirius, can I talk to you in the drawing room, please?" I said that night after dinner.

"Sure Alina." We walked into the room, and once again put an Imperturbable Charm on the door. I stood in front of my family's tapestry, and my father joined me.

"Dad, can't we tell them now? I mean, we'll eventually have to tell the Order, and why not sooner than later? It's better than it leaking out-"

"No it's not! The Order cannot know! They can _never_ know!"

"What? Dad, are you ashamed of me or something?"

"How dare you accuse me of that? I'm your father whether you like it or not young lady, while you're under my roof, you have to live by my rules!"

"Yea, like those helped all these years! Where were you, Dad? Oh yea! Locked up in Azkaban!"

"Don't bring that into this!"

"No, I think I will! You've only been around me for a maximum of four years of my life, Dad! I'm seventeen! Have you thought about how this affects me?"

"Alina, have _you_ thought about this affects _me_? I have to hide that I have a daughter, a beautiful, wonderful daughter, to keep her and myself safe! If Voldemort found out, he would try and recruit you as a Death Eater, just like he did to the rest of our family. If you declined, which you better if he does come after you, he would kill you! I'm not letting you die because of this war!"

"Dad, what if I want to help Harry? I'm of age! I can fight now! Even if Voldemort found out that you were my father, he would send Bellatrix or some other minion after me, and with the Order on my side, I can't be hurt!"

"The Order won't always be there for you! You'll be on your own after you leave Hogwarts! If the world knew, there'd be Death Eaters after you left and right! Hell, the bitch would come after her own family member for the Dark Lord. Princess, it is better this way; trust me."

"Fine," I said while my eyes filled with angry tears, "What do we tell the others?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you think they'll wonder why we were in here? And why we put an Imperturbable Charm on the door?"

"Right… So what do we say?"

"That you think for the holidays I should go back to my family and give them their memories back."

"That's a good idea, Princess."

"Thank you. I take pride in being able to think quickly on my feet."

"No," my father said with a laugh, "I think it's a good idea for you to give the Taylors their memories back. It wasn't right what we did to them; they deserve an explanation. And it is probably better for you to go live with them again."

"NO!" I yelled and ran out of the room, tears flowing from my eyes. I almost ran into Kreacher, whom we had ordered not to say anything about Sirius being my father. I blindly ran up the stairs and toward a random room. I ended up running into George.

"Alina? Why are you crying?" I couldn't tell him why, so I buried myself into his open arms. He stood holding me, and then sat me down on his bed. George then closed the door, locked it, and sat next to me. He put his arm around me once again. "Alina, please, tell me what's going on. I know you miss your family, but there's something more; I can tell."

"Alright, I'll tell you, but you have to swear not to tell."

"I swear," he said, holding up his right hand, making me crack a small smile.

"Sirius told me that I should go back to my family when the holidays come around and give them their memories back."

"Well, that's great," he said, sounding a bit disappointed. "I'm really happy for you."

"Well, I'm not! It's just putting them in more danger! Sirius obviously doesn't think I should stay here, and now I have no place to go!"

"Lini, I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind having you live with us. It'd just be like Charlie or Bill were home. And I'm positive that Ginny would be happy to have another girl in the house." I hung my head, tears still coming out of my eyes. He stood up and crouched in front of me, so I was higher than him. "Come on, lift that pretty chin of yours, stop these tears, and give Georgie a smile."

I still sat there, looking down, when I felt rough fingers smelling of gun powder on my cheek, wiping away the tears. They then pushed a loose strand of curly hair behind my ear. Finally, they were under my chin, slightly tilting it toward the ceiling. I took a deep breath and gave him a smirk. I suddenly remembered overhearing what George had said to Fred the first day that the Order was here. _He said he thought he loved me_. I blocked it from my mind, and thought only about the present.

"Now that's better," George said happily. He stood up and turned on a small wireless radio on Fred's side of the room. An upbeat song by the Weird Sisters came on, mid-chorus. George started dancing around the room, all by himself, in the strangest way. The song ended shortly after, and a slow song by Celestina Warbeck was next. She broke into a beautiful ballad and George walked over to me, his hand outstretched.

"May I have this dance?" he asked with a slight bow.

"Of course, Captain Formal," I said, taking his hand. He had his hands on my waist; mine were on his shoulders, and we were gently swaying to the music. He couldn't wipe the goofy smile off of his face, which meant I couldn't stop giggling. He slowly dipped me and then brought me back up, and held me closer than before. I rested my head on his chest and he lightly set his chin in the middle of my head. On the last note, a high, held one, he spun me out and brought me back rather quickly, which resulted in us toppling over and me landing on top of him, both of us laughing uncontrollably. We looked up just to see Fred and Harry standing in the doorway.

"Heya, guys!" I said through suppressed giggles.

"Harry, Fred, how long have you guys been standing there?" George asked.

"Oh, ever since the dip," Harry replied with a smile. I stood up, walked over to the wireless, and cranked the volume all the way up. I tuned in to a different station, and it was my perfect channel: the Wizard Country Music Station. Luke Bryan, who was a wizard in secret, was playing his new song, "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)". I started dancing around the room, having fun.

"Come on, you guys! Dance!" Harry smiled and started dancing around with me. "Fred, George, what's wrong?"

"How can you listen to country?" Fred asked.

"Um… I just do? And I like it?" I drew out my wand and made little flashing lights of different colors fly around the room. Finally, Fred and George joined the dance party when the song changed to "Cowboy Casanova" by Carrie Underwood.

"Alina, are all the country singers wizards?" Harry yelled over the music.

"Mostly. Taylor Swift isn't though. Only about four percent of all musicians are Muggles. Why do you think we can get them through the Wizard stations? And that they sound so good?"

"Good point. I think I can get used to country now!"

"Me too!" the twins yelled.

"You're just saying that to watch Alina dance, you know," Tonks said, coming to join the party with Ginny and Hermione. Ron finally appeared in the doorway, looking annoyed.

"OI! WHO'S BLASTING COUNTRY?" he said, trying to make his way across the small room filled with people towards the wireless.

"Hey! No Ron! _Protego_!" I said and cast a Shield Charm between him and the radio. He was blasted off his feet and landed on Fred's bed. We all had a good laugh, and danced to three more songs until a furious Mrs. Weasley burst in and told us all to go to bed. We turned off the wireless, and I walked off to my room that I shared with Tonks. We got ready for bed quickly and turned off the lights.

"So, you and George…?" Tonks said, while trying to stifle a giggle.

"We're just friends. That's it."

"Oh, come on. Harry told me what he and Fred burst in on!"

"Yea, so? I was upset about something, and George was trying to cheer me up."

"Uh…how did you end up on top of him?"

"Wow, Harry. I'm gonna kill the messenger! We were dancing, and then George spun me out, and me being as clumsy as you, we fell. That's all."

"Oh… Well, you guys looked really cute dancing together."

"Um, thanks? I guess?"

"Oh, so naïve," Tonks said. I smirked at my cousin, rolled over and drifted off to sleep.

**uR**

I woke up the next morning pretty early so I could finish my packing. I accidentally woke up Tonks when an old prank of Fred and George's exploded when I touched it. She jumped out of bed, to find me surrounded in a cloud of smoke.

"What the hell are you doing, Alina?" I sucked the smoke into my wand, and answered her while coughing and spluttering.

"Last minute packing. I found an old prank of Fred and George's in my trunk, and it kind of exploded. It's all good though. Well, we better get downstairs. We have to leave soon."

"Yea. Thanks for the wakeup call," she said grumpily. I finished packing and she helped me carry my belongings downstairs. My owl, Tawny, who was a regular barn owl, was fast asleep with her head under her wing. We walked to the kitchen, where Mrs. Weasley was fussing about her children. I grabbed a piece of toast when I heard a voice behind me.

"Hey, Alina, come here," my father said. We walked to our usual spot, in front of our family's tapestry in the drawing room. The door once again was closed and had an Imperturbable Charm on it.

"My Princess is on her final year at Hogwarts. I'm so proud," he said with tears in his eyes.

"Dad, stop. You'll make me cry," I said as my voice cracked. He wrapped me in another bear hug, tears leaking from both of our eyes. "I'm sorry for arguing with you. We should be happy that we can have each other. I'm sorry," I said, bursting into fresh tears in my father's arms.

"No, Princess. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I was away from you for so long. I've been a bit too hard on you. I want you to write me this year, alright? Write to 'Snuffles.' Harry is doing the same thing. I want you to write more often though. I'll write once a week, and if I don't get a prompt return, I'll write to Dumbledore."

"Dad! You know I'll write back."

"Haha, I know. Aaah! I don't want my little Alina to leave!"

"Do you really want me to stay here with you? I'm a teenage girl."

"Good point. Now go, you're going to miss the train. Write me about the first day when you get a chance."

"Alright," I said, giving my father a fleeting hug before running out the door. We all scrambled outside into Ministry cars that were magically enlarged so we could fit nicely. We raced to the station, and ran through the brick wall to get to Platform 9¾. We all said goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and piled onto the train. Ron and Hermione set off towards the Prefect carriages while Harry and Ginny walked in different directions. I walked with Fred and George to find Lee Jordan. We found him in an empty carriage, muttering incantations at the seat in front of him, which started changing colors. Fred took the empty seat next to Lee, and that left George and I to sit with each other. Suddenly, Fred and Lee ran out of the compartment, and sealed the door.

"What the hell are you two doing?" I yelled. They sniggered and ran away. "Well, now what do we do? We're frikin' stuck in here!"

"Yea, too bad both of us have wands and are trained in the magical arts."

"Right… Well whatever. I can't believe we're on our last year. It feels like these years zoomed by. You know what I mean?"

"Oh, yea; I know what you mean. It feels like it was six days ago that Fred and I approached you after the Sorting, not six years."

"I know. I still can't believe I'm in Slytherin. It sucks there. I'm not wanted," I mumbled. _Yea, if they just knew who my family was; then they'd accept me_.

"At least we still have classes together, and we prank together. People probably look at us as an odd pair," George said half-heartedly. _They wouldn't if they knew Sirius was my dad._ "You know, Alina? Or am I allowed to call you Lini? I'd prefer that."

"Sure. I don't mind."

"Alright, Lini. I'm surprised the Hat didn't put you in Ravenclaw. I mean, look at your grades! They're the top of the class! And you got all 'Outstanding' marks on your O.W.L.s!"

"Thanks, George. Oh, God. We have to take N.E.W.T.s this year! Shit, I'm failing."

"If you're failing, then there's no hope for the rest of us," George said with a wide smile. I laughed for a while, which was followed by another of those awkward silences. I gazed out the window into the zooming countryside that was passing by, when George's voice snapped me back to reality.

"You really miss them, don't you?"

"Yes," I whispered. _Heh, you don't even know _half_ of it. I should tell him; it's fair._ I opened my mouth to speak, but George interrupted me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"Eh, it's alright," I said, resting my head on his shoulder, "George, I'm sorry you have to keep seeing me all upset. You – you should know the real reason."

"You don't have to tell me; only when you're ready," he said quietly, grasping my hand.

"Thanks. Good luck with Quidditch this year; I know you and Fred are awesome Beaters."

"Heh, thank you. You know, I've seen you fly." I looked at him, my face saying 'And how would _you_ know?'

"Lini, I've seen you sneak onto the pitch. Gryffindor Tower has a pretty decent view of the arena. I saw you zooming around on those crappy school brooms trying to catch the Snitch, and let me tell you, you've made some spectacular captures."

"Thanks, but my team already has a Seeker: Draco Malfoy. They're not holding tryouts for it, I think."

"Well, who cares? Ask for them to let you try out! You're amazing! C'mon, Lini. For me?" he asked with puppy dog eyes. "If you say no, I'll Transfigure that owl of yours into a puppy and not let you have her until you try out."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh, I would. Do you promise?"

"Fine. But I don't have a broom. So unless you want to see me embarrass myself on one of the 'crappy school brooms,' I can't try out."

"Well, if you have the money, we can send it to my mum, and she can buy it for you and then mail it."

"I guess so. But I should practice." I said this and Fred and Lee walked into the compartment. They saw the position George and I were in and both winked. We instantly jumped apart.

"God, guys. If you're dating, it won't change anything," Lee said.

"We're not dating!" George and I both said indignantly as I took my perch next to George again.

"Oh, okay then," Fred said with another wink.

"Alright, if it doesn't bother you," I said with a smile and pressed my lips to George's. He kissed back, and I could feel Fred and Lee staring at us. We pulled apart, George with a vague smile on his face. "What? You guys said you didn't mind."

"I know I didn't," George said with a smirk, and I playfully hit his arm. I saw out of the corner of my eye a bushy mane of brown hair whip out of sight. I jumped up and pulled the compartment door open.

"GRANGER!" I sprinted down the narrow passageway, pushing people out of my way. People were surprised to see the seventh year Slytherin chasing after the fifth year Gryffindor Prefect. I saw her slip into a compartment on my left. I skidded to a halt, threw open the door, stormed in, and slammed the door shut. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were all looking at me, terrified.

"I'm not going to kill you. Just tell me what Hermione was doing," I said with a forced smile.

"We were just wondering if you and George were together yet," Ron said simply.

"Well we're not, for your information. And you could've just asked us."

"Sorry," they all said except for Hermione, who looked confused.

"But you guys were kissing!" she said, and all heads turned toward her.

"We were teasing Fred and Lee. They said that it wouldn't change anything if we were dating, so we kissed quickly, just to bother them. That's all."

"Oh, so you definitely are _not_ dating?" Ron asked.

"I think she's made that clear," Hermione said, sounding bored.

"Awesome, I'm still in the game." Hermione and Ginny smacked him as I walked out of the compartment, off to find my two and only Slytherin Friends, Iris Smith and Callie Johnson. They're both Purebloods, but they hated how I was treated and were my best friends ever since. Iris was holding hands with her boyfriend, Marcus Flint, who gave me a sneer when I walked in, but he knew better not to say anything while Iris and Callie were around. I plopped down next to Callie, and grabbed a cookie out of the box she was offering.

"So Cal, how was your holiday?"

"Who cares about mine, let me hear about yours! What's this I hear about George Weasley?"

"Iris, I'm gonna go hang with the guys…" Marcus said and left the carriage.

"So what happened?" Iris asked.

"Nothing! Nothing happened!" I said a bit too hastily.

"Oh yea, because you two snogging on the train is nothing," Iris said with a snort.

"God, you sound like Fred."

"Oh shut up. So you guys _are_ dating, right?" Cal asked.

"MY GOD, NO! WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP ASKING THAT?"

"Well you two were snogging!" Cal said.

"So? Haven't you heard of friends with benefits?" We all laughed at my remark, but Cal and Iris were still curious.

"Has he said anything to you?"

"Well, no, but he doesn't mind when I put my head on his shoulder, and I don't mind when he comes up behind me and puts his arms around me. I was spending some of the summer holidays with his family, and we danced together in his room last night," I said and thought about the fun time, and didn't even notice the smile creeping across my face.

"Oh. My. God. Alina! You are crushing girl!" Iris said enthusiastically.

"Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!" Cal said in disbelief.

"Guys, stop. Or I won't tell you anything else, and what I'm about to tell you is probably the one thing you want to hear most."

"SPILL!" they both yelled.

"Alright, well I overheard him talking to Fred, and he said that he thought he loves me." Cal's and Iris' jaws dropped to the floor.

"Wait, how can you be sure it was you he was talking about?" Iris asked logically.

"Because I heard him use my name. He had no idea I was on the steps outside his room, and he said that he was angry with himself, confused, and hurt. Fred told him to calm down, but George said he couldn't because he thinks he loves me."

"Girl…he's got the HOTS for you!" Cal said.

"Indubitably," Iris agreed.

"So…?" Cal drifted off.

"So what?"

"So, what do you want to do about this?"

"I don't know! I guess go on like normal…yea…I like that idea; let him make the first move…"

"Hon, you guys have already had 'the first move,'" Iris said.

"You know what I mean!"

"Well, I'm off to find Marcus again, now that the 'girl talk' is over," Iris said with a smirk.

"Cal, do you want to come and join me up near the front of the train? The lunch trolley should be around soon, and I'm starved; all I had was a piece of toast this morning."

"Sure…Nice reason to go see George," she answered with a devious smile.

"Shut up, Cal!" We walked up the train and slowed down where the compartment that Fred, George, and Lee were sitting. The curtains were down, so we approached, our ears perked for any sounds within.

"Alina, they're probably just talking about pranks. Just walk in, already!"

"Shush, Cal!" I pressed my ear to the door, straining to hear any sounds. I could hear Lee's voice emanating from inside.

"…and if you really do love her, you should probably tell her. Who knows? She might like you back," he said calmly.

"Yea, but what if I get rejected?" George asked, sounding sincerely worried.

"Who are you and what have you done with George?" Lee asked, sounding shocked. I silently laughed at this remark, thinking gladly that there were no people in this section of the corridor.

"Yea, what's life without a little risk?" Fred asked.

"This is different! This isn't pranking and hoping you don't get caught! This is way more than that!" George said angrily, "I need some air…" I heard him standing up and walk toward the door, and I backed away quickly. He opened the door, and seemed confused, and I smiled in return to his look.

"Hey, Alina," he said and walked away quickly.

"George! George! Where are you going?" I said, jogging to keep up with him.

"Please, I need some time alone…to just think. Please, just leave me alone." I stood in the middle of the corridor, feeling tears start to infiltrate my eyes. Cal ran up behind me, huffing and puffing.

"What are you doing? Go after him!"

"He said he needs time alone, and I'll give it to him," I said and felt a single tear slide down my cheek. I walked off, trying to find an empty carriage, where I could sit alone.

"Alina, Alina, wait! Please, talk to me!" Cal yelled. I stormed off and found an empty compartment near the end of the train. I walked in, locked the door, sat down, and hugged my knees tightly to my chest. The tears came pouring down; it was all too much: the Taylors, my father, and…George.

**A/N: Well? Sorry for the abrupt ending, and I know, I know. You're probably thinking 'Get together, already!' Well, I'm working on it! Favorite and alert, please! Oh, reviews are love!**


	4. Panthers and Pranks

**Chapter 4**

**A/N: Alright, I know you guys have probably been bored so far, but hey, it gets exciting now! I promise! Just so you know, this chapter is inspired by "What The Hell" by Avril Lavigne.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter stuff; all rights go to J.K. and Warner Bros, and if I did own it, I probably would've used my power to marry Oliver Phelps a LONG time ago.**

Cal came running into the compartment, looking very worried. She looked like she thought I went insane. "Alina, what's wrong? Is it George? Go after him if you're that upset!"

"It's not that. Cal, I just want to be alone, please."

"No, you're my best friend. I'm staying with you whether you like it or not."

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I yelled and stormed out of the compartment, leaving Cal with a look of shock and hurt on her face. I walked blindly down the corridor, people scrambling to get out of my way. I guess I looked pretty mad. I found a compartment with one person in it, their entire body hidden under a cloak, and they seemed to be asleep. I slammed the door open and closed, then sat in the seat across from them. They sat up and I got a look at their face. It was George.

"Dammit," I mumbled and stood.

"No, Alina, wait. We need to talk. I need to tell you something. I –" but George couldn't finish his sentence, caused by my fist sinking into his mouth. He staggered back, clutching his jaw.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

"I – I…"

"Bitch," he said, massaging his jaw, "Shit, that hurts." I turned and stalked out of the compartment.

"Alina! Wait! I need to talk to you! Come back!" I kept walking the length of the train until I found Fred and Lee. I sat down next to Lee, my mouth hanging open.

"Alina…?" Fred asked. I sat silently, mouth still open.

"What's going on?" Lee asked.

"G – George…" I managed to crack out.

"What? Did he ask you out?" I shook my head, still not believing what I had just done.

"I punched him. Right in the mouth." I peeked out the window and saw George walking toward our carriage. I sat back down and faced Lee. He gave me a look that plainly said, 'Um…hi?' I heard George's hand on the door handle. I grabbed Lee and kissed him.

"ALINA! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" I separated from Lee.

"What do you think I'm doing, George?"

"KISSING MY BEST MATE! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?"

"What do you care?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE MY –"

"Because I'm your what?" I yelled, my voice shrill, "You don't own me!"

"Alina, why are you doing this?"

"Maybe because I want to and last time I checked, you're NOT my dad. So you can't dictate what I can and cannot do. If you don't mind, _leave me the hell alone_," I said and walked out of the compartment, leaving my three best guy friends dumbfounded. I spent the rest of the ride to school alone, reading. We arrived and it was pouring rain. I took a carriage up to the school with Cal and Iris, who were whispering fervently with each other.

"If you're going to talk about me, speak up. If you've got something to say, then I'd like to hear."

"Alina, what's going on with you?" Iris asked tentatively.

"Yea, we're worried," Cal added.

"Nothing. I just decided to mess with George's head. If he won't talk to me and is going to be a controlling jerk, well I'll have a good time _without_ him. Who says I can't have a little fun with other guys?"

"Well, you guys were sort of dating, right?"

"We weren't and never will, if that ass keeps acting the way he does; not that I'm interested or anything," I said, feeling tears burn behind my eyes. We arrived shortly after the argument finished, and I stalked off to the Great Hall silently and without my friends. I sat down at the Slytherin table, a short ways away from Draco Malfoy who kept staring at me. I heard him muttering things about me.

"There's no way a Mudblood like her is _that_ pretty. She's a fake. She's probably not even smart," I heard him say once to his little cronies.

"Fuck off Malfoy. I haven't got time for scum like you," I hissed. He looked taken aback, and I smirked to myself. We got some new first years, and I ended up having a cocky looking little shit next to me. He was bragging to anyone who would listen that his father personally worked with the new hag of a woman that was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dolores Umbridge. I suppressed the urge to slap him upside the head every time he opened his mouth. God, he was a Draco-in-miniature.

I was completely relieved when Dumbledore dismissed us to bed, and tried to ignore as many stares as possible. I guess the tale of my little escapades on the train spread quickly. I was just exiting the Great Hall when I felt a hand grasp my arm. Thinking it was George, I tried to pull away.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone," I said, trying to show as little emotion as possible.

"Lini, it's me," it was a low, smooth voice.

"Graham?" I turned around to face my ex, Graham Montague.

"Lini, it's great to see you again. Come here." He took my hand and weaved through the crowd, and my face probably had an utter look of confusion. He took me a bit away from the throng of people, but we were still in plain sight. _Well, if he tries anything, at least I'll have witnesses_. I was broken from my thought when I was engulfed in a huge hug.

"Uh… Graham?" He released me from the hug, a smile like a little kids on his face.

"Lini, I heard about what happened on the train."

"Heh… Who hasn't?"

"If Weasley has upset you, I'll make sure he'll regret it."

"No, it's alright. He's just pissed about…something," I lied. I knew perfectly well what he was pissed about: He has feelings for me and doesn't know how to tell me, and when he tries to, I always ruin it.

"Well you seem upset, Lini. I don't like seeing you like this." He stared intently into my eyes and I heard the footsteps of the last few students fading from the hallway. "Lini, would you mind accompanying me back to the common room?" Graham asked, holding out his hand. _What the hell? It'll mess with George's head._

"I'd like that," I said with a smile, taking his hand.

**uR**

_All my life I've been good, but now, oh-oh-oh-oh I'm thinkin' 'What the hell?'_

_All I want is to mess around, and I-I-I-I-I don't really care about_

_If you love me, if you hate me; you can save me baby, baby_

_All my life I've been good, but now, oh-oh-oh-oh what the hell?_

_La-la-la-lala-la-lalaaa ah-woah ah-woah_

_La-la-la-lala-la-lalaaa ah-woah ah-woah_

_You say that I'm messin' with your head, boy, I like messin' in your bed_

_Yea, I am messin' with your head, when I'm messin' with you in bed._

**uR**

Graham and I walked down to the Slytherin common room in the dungeons, hand-in-hand. We stopped outside of the seemingly blank wall that was really the entrance to the Slytherin common room. He turned to face me and was staring in my eyes again. I quickly averted them.

"Lini, I have something to ask you –"

"Alright, but can you stop calling me Lini? George started calling me it… and well, it's awkward now."

"No problem Alina," he said with a smile. I gave him a little half smile back. "Will you be my girlfriend again?"

"I – I…"

"Is that a yes?" he asked hopefully, taking both my hands.

"No, Graham. I'm sorry. We couldn't make it work then, and I don't think it'll work now."

"But – but, I'll do anything for you, Alina!"

"No. We've both changed, and I'm not the girl you used to know. I'm sorry," I said and entered the common room. I left Graham who looked like he was about to burst out crying. I walked up to my room, where I found Cal and Iris sitting on Cal's bed, eating candy. There were only the three of us in this dorm, seeing as it couldn't fit any more beds. I could feel the tension as I walked over to my bed. I plopped down on the pillows, thinking I should probably say something.

"Look. I'm sorry for what happened earlier. I've got a lot of shit going on right now, and I shouldn't have taken it out on you guys. Forgive me?"

"Yea, we shouldn't have talked like that right in front of you; we should've asked what was going on…sorry," Iris said quietly.

"What she said," Cal said pointing to Iris. I walked over and sat down next to Cal, taking a Chocolate Frog in the process.

"So what took you so long to get down here?" Iris asked, taking a bite of a licorice wand.

"Graham," I simply said.

"What?" they both said, dropping their food.

"He asked me to be his girlfriend again."

"You said no, of course!" Cal shrieked.

"Of course I said no! Do you think I want to go through that again?" I remembered dating Graham…just put it this way: NOT PLEASANT.

"Thank God," Iris said, letting her held breath escape her. We spent the next few hours or so pigging out on candy we weren't even hungry for, laughing, and telling each other about our summers, until we all decided that we should probably go to bed, seeing as it was three A.M. and we had to be at breakfast in five hours.

**uR**

I walked to first period, N.E.W.T. Potions with Snape. I walked into his dank dungeon, and being one of his best students, I got his rare barely-a-smile. I sat down next to some Ravenclaw girl, who I still had no idea who she was after six years and two of having the same Potions. Snape walked in the door, looking as greasy-haired and bat-like as ever.

"Quiet," he drawled. I remembered him at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, sometimes staying for dinner after Order meetings. Boy, were those awkward. "Turn to page 156 and commence your brewing." I turned to the page, and saw that we were making a Hiccupping Solution. It looked simple enough. I occasionally tweaked the instructions in the book a bit, mostly finding that I was right because I would accidentally add a clockwise turn or mess up the number of leaves. Sometimes, I just had a gut feeling that the instructions had something wrong about them, so I'd change them and still come out with a better potion than the rest of the class.

Within the last five minutes, my potion was yet again the only one to be the exact light mint green color that Snape was looking for. Once again, I tweaked the instructions. We were supposed to add three two-inch unicorn tail hairs, but it didn't sound right. So, I put in four one-inch hairs, which gave the top layer of the potion the light sheen that was apparently very beneficial. I stoppered up my vile of potion and cleared up my work station. We had our first piece of homework, a two-foot essay on the history of the Hiccupping Solution and its evolving into what it is today, due in two days. The bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson. I started walking toward the dungeon door when the professor called me back.

"Man, what does he want?" I muttered to myself.

"Taylor, let me see your book," Snape ordered.

"My – my book?"

"Yes, you silly girl. Your Potions book."

"Oh, alright, Professor," I said and rummaged in my bag for the small, yet semi-new looking book. I held it out to Snape, who snatched it out of my hand. "I haven't written in it, if that's what you're wondering about."

"Everything seems to be in order," he said, flipping through the textbook, "Answer me this, Taylor: How did you know to put in four one-inch unicorn hairs instead of three two-inch hairs?"

"Intuition?"

"Don't give me cheek, Taylor. I'm not afraid to take points from my own House. Tell me, how did you know to put in the not-instructed amount of hairs?"

"I was just reading through the directions and something seemed off about them. I figured the smaller hairs would dissolve into the potion better, and that six would thicken it too much. Four seemed like a nice number."

"Well, that was a," he began, sounding strained, "_perfect_ potion. I would have made it the same way."

"Er, thanks sir."

"Ten points to Slytherin," he said with a small smile, "Keep using your 'intuition,' Taylor. It'll get you far." He finished and winked. I was very creeped out and confused by this, so I just smiled in return.

"Have a nice day, sir." I almost ran out of the dungeon, and heard Snape's voice come after me.

"Remember to not disclose any information about the Order to anyone, Alina." _What the hell is going on here? Snape being nice? Him calling me by my first name? First day back = weird._

I walked out of the dungeons and up to the library, where I hoped to find a book about Hiccupping Solutions, so I could get a head start on the essay. I spent my entire free period in the library, and at the end of the hour, I had almost completed my Potions homework. The bell rang and I was off to N.E.W.T. Transfiguration. I walked into the classroom and sat down moments before the bell rang. I looked around to find that the small number from last year had dwindled even more. There were four of us this year. I hadn't even noticed the small cat on the desk until it jumped off of the desk and was Professor McGonagall.

"Good morning, students. Today we will broach the subject of human Transfiguration. As you remember from last year, we took notes on this, and today, we will try and make our heads pumpkins." By the end of the lesson, I was once again the only student to succeed. I had made a Gryffindor boy's head into a complete pumpkin. The other three students, no matter how hard they tried, could only inflate one another's heads into the shapes of pumpkins. I put the boy's head back and walked over to the professor at her desk.

"Professor McGonagall? Could I have a word?"

"Of course, Miss Taylor," she said as she gestured to a chair.

"Well, I was wondering about Animagi. Well, becoming an Animagus, actually. I was going to talk to Snuffles about it," I said with a smile, "but I never got the chance. So I decided to come to you."

"Well becoming an Animagus is a very hard and long process. And you have to get approval from the Ministry," she lowered her voice, "And well, they're not really happy with the Order right now."

"Well people didn't know about the Marauders for the longest time. Who has to know about me?"

"Alina! Are you suggesting you break the law?"

"Maybe," I said with a devious smile.

"You sound like Snuffles and James," she said with a sigh.

"Will you help me? I think it'll be beneficial in the long run. And right under Umbridge's nose."

"That's tempting," she said. "Fine, I'll help you. We will meet every night starting tonight in my office directly after dinner."

"What's our cover story?" I asked, feeling like I was talking to my father in front of the Black family tapestry.

"Excuse me?"

"What do we tell people? There are bound to be questions."

"Oh. We'll say that you want to become a Transfiguration Master and I'm helping you get there."

"You're good at thinking up lies, Professor," I said, thinking, _yea, she's_ _almost as good as me_.

"Miss Taylor!"

"Sorry… and please, call me Alina."

"Fine, Alina. Tonight, directly after you finish dinner, meet me in my office. And just so you know, I'm always free during third period."

"Yes, Professor," I said, and went back to my seat. We were assigned to write another two-foot essay on things that can go wrong during the transfiguration of humans. I packed up my bag, excited for that night, and walked to N.E.W.T. Defense Against the Dark Arts. I was walking and was joined by Lee Jordan and Fred.

"Lee, Fred, I'm sorry about what I did on the train."

"It's alright," Fred said, "George is just kind of insane right now."

"Yea, and I was completely alright with it," Lee said with a smile. I blushed, remembering the oh-so-spontaneous-just-to-piss-off-George-kiss.

"So where is the psycho? I thought he was taking this class?" I asked.

"Yea, but he had to go to the library for something. So he'll be coming from the other way." We walked in and sat down at a desk at the front. We pulled out our textbooks: something about Defense Theory. I had read the whole book when I got it, and it was the most boring textbook ever.

"Do you guys know why we got a new textbook? Think we'll need the other one?" I was asking Fred and Lee as George came in and sat down in the empty seat between Fred and myself. _Well, this will be interesting_, I thought. Professor Umbridge walked into the room with the bell, looking as toad-like as ever. She walked to the front of the room and smiled at us, which freaked me out.

"Hello, children. I'm your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Please open your books to page five and begin reading."

"Um, Professor?" I asked, raising my hand.

"Yes, dear? What is your name?"

"Alina Taylor. And I was wondering why we changed textbooks. We used this one last year," I said, showing her last year's book, "We were told that it should've covered last year and this year."

"Oh yes, Miss Taylor. I'm quite sure that the old book would've been long enough, but it was impractical and violent. The Ministry believes that young wizards such as yourselves should be taught the theory."

"But how will we learn to defend ourselves?" Lee said.

"Students will raise their hands to speak! And as to answer your question, Mister…"

"Lee Jordan."

"Jordan, you don't need to defend yourselves. There's nothing to get you." I thrust my hand into the air. "Yes, Miss Taylor?"

"What about Death Eaters? And the Dark Lord?"

"Why would they come after schoolchildren? Miss Taylor, please stop making crazy accusations and read your textbook." I saw this as a lost battle and stared at the back of her head as she walked to her desk, willing it to explode into flames. She sat down, looking oh-so-toad-like, and I sat staring straight at her. "Miss Taylor, do you have a question about the text?"

"Well no; I already read the whole textbook."

"Then you should be able to write an essay on any of the chapters. Please do so."

"Ma'am?"

"Yes?" she answered with a hint of malice.

"I was wondering if we could practice any spells. You know, sparring."

"That's an outrage! Why would you ever do that? Miss Taylor, stay quiet!" I shut my mouth, knowing I'd start losing points and getting detentions. I used a half of an hour to write a speedy yet efficient essay about something in the first chapter. I handed it to Umbridge and asked as nicely as I could, "May I go see Professor McGonagall?"

"Of course, dear," she said with a smile that made me want to gag.

**uR**

**A/N: Yea, I know. It's like the argument with Harry in the 5****th**** book, but whatever! Harry still had his argument, so don't you worry your little head. Alina just knew when to shut up.**

**uR**

I walked through the empty corridors toward the Transfiguration classroom. I knocked on the door to find McGonagall reading.

"Alina! What are you doing here?"

"I had to get out of there, Professor. It's a nightmare."

"What? What's going on?"

"She's ruined Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Oh. What happened?"

"We're not learning. She's not letting us learn spell work. We're just supposed to read the textbook that is all about Defense Theory and write essays. It's horrible."

"Well I can't control what Dolores teaches. It's her class. But do you feel as if you're learning anything?"

"No! I already read the whole textbook, and I didn't learn a thing."

"Well, I can bring this up with the Headmaster. He'll decide what to do."

"Thanks Professor. Maybe DADA is saved," I said happily as the bell rang, "I'll see you tonight for our Animagus lesson! I can't wait!" I ran out of the room and down to the Entrance Hall where I met Cal and Iris for lunch. We walked over to the Slytherin table and ignored the glares of the Pureblood-Hot-Heads as we called them, and sat down, helping ourselves to food.

"Oh my God, Alina. Montague looks suicidal since you rejected him, and George is so out-in-space that he walked into a wall earlier!" Cal said excitedly.

"Yea, I tried asking George a question in Charms, but he wasn't paying any attention," Iris added.

"Wow…never thought I'd cause guys to do that." We finished our lunch and Cal and Iris headed off toward the dungeons for Potions while I went outside for N.E.W.T. Care of Magical Creatures. Professor Grubbly-Plank had somehow gotten a Snidget.

"Professor, I thought Snidget-hunting was illegal," I said while I was watching with the rest of the class as it zoomed around inside the little barrier we had made.

"It was outlawed at the end of the thirteenth century, and then Bowman Wright of Godric's Hollow made the first Golden Snitch. This particular Snidget was bred in captivity, so I was able to borrow it with permission from the Ministry."

"Oh, well I enjoy them. It's too bad that they're endangered," I said. We had a fun time watching it zoom around and then had to try and capture it to put it back in its cage. I was the one who managed to catch it with a Summoning Spell, and tried not to crush it. The bell rang and it signaled the end of my day. The rest of the day was mine until dinner. I decided to finish up my Potions and Transfiguration essays and finish diagraming a Snidget while I sat under a tree near the lake. I was halfway through the Transfiguration essay when I heard voices coming from behind me. It was Lee and Fred.

"Hey Alina!" they both said cheerfully.

"Homework? Already?" Fred asked as he plopped down next to me.

"Aw, c'mon Fred! She's taking what, six N.E.W.T. classes?" Lee said.

"Guys, what do you want? I have to finish this essay and then a diagram."

"Oh, we were just wondering if you were up for the first prank of the year…tomorrow…during break… dungbombs in the hallways…"

"Yea, of course I'm up for it!"

"Great! We'll go tell George!"

"Have fun…" They walked off and I finished up my homework a little while later and remembered I was supposed to write to my dad. I took out some spare parchment and re-inked my quill.

_Dear Snuffles,_

_The first day back was great! Odd, but great! Snape was nice to me, which took me aback, but that was nothing compared to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Umbridge is some toad-like hag from the Ministry and we're not learning anything, just 'Defense Theory.' I tried to call her out on it, but got yelled at a bunch of times so I just dropped it. I hope everything is well there._

_Love, Princess_

_P.S.: Guess what? McGonagall is going to help me become an Animagus, just like you! I can't wait to start learning!_

I folded up the parchment and walked up to the Owlery to send it off with Tawny. She flew off, and I hoped that she would be okay. I looked down at my watch, reading five o'clock. I decided I'd go back to my room and drop off my stuff, freshen up, and read until dinnertime. When it was five of six, I met up with Cal and Iris to go down to dinner. I ate quickly and said goodbye as I walked to the Transfiguration room where I'd start my Animagus training.

"Professor McGonagall?" I called as I walked into the room. "That's odd…she isn't here." I walked and checked her office, which was also empty. I walked back out of her office, and was shocked to find her, hair completely frizzed, soot on her face, glasses askew, and her looking furious.

"Er… Professor, is everything alright?"

"Yes, yes," she said as she fixed herself up, "It was Peeves…really, a bonfire in the Charms hallway…"

"That's a new one…"

"Yes, well, are you ready?" she asked, facing me.

"Yea, of course!"

"Tonight, we will begin our journey into the world of," she changed into a cat and back, and seeing the huge grin on my face, she finished, "Animagi."

"I'm so excited!" I squealed, and then felt embarrassed. "Sorry, Professor."

"It's alright, after all, it is quite exciting." She turned to get something from her desk and a sudden thought hit me.

"Professor, are you sure you're alright teaching me? If you don't really want to…" She looked up with a look I couldn't quite decipher.

"Alina, I know what you're thinking: you're a Slytherin and I'm the Head of Gryffindor House. Well, just let me say this: you're the only child I think was mis-Sorted. But, alas, the Hat has its reasons. Fred Weasley once told me that you wanted to be in Gryffindor. I feel honored to teach you this subject; just know that."

"Thank-you, Professor."

"Well, let's get onto the learning! Well, as you know, an Animagus can change at will into an animal. You can't choose the animal, since it reflects your inner traits. Before we start, I want you to realize what you're getting into. It's very arduous work, and if something goes wrong, the results can be disastrous. Plus, you are going to be unregistered, so if anyone finds out, you can be sentenced to Azkaban for who knows how long. Are you sure you're up for this?" I hesitated, fearing Azkaban, but my father survived it, so why couldn't I?

"Y – yes. I'm positive, Professor."

"Alright, then. Let's start. Now, the most important thing is concentration. You have to concentrate on turning into an animal," she changed into a tabby cat and then back. "Your clothes should automatically morph with you, unless you concentrate on morphing without them. There is a plus side to being an Animagus, though. There's no need for a wand. So, Miss Taylor, concentrate on becoming an animal and try to morph." I was about to try, and then another thought hit me.

"Professor, I don't know what animal I'd be. How can I concentrate on becoming an animal if I don't know what animal I'm supposed to morph into?"

"Well, what is your Patronus? The two pieces of magic are usually linked."

"It's a lion cub. So should I try that?"

"It's where I'd start."

"Okay…" I let out a long breath. I started to concentrate. _Lion cub… lion cub… lion cub…_ I felt something inside me tingle, and I felt my body start to contort. I was so surprised that something happened, that I lost my concentration. "Aaah!" I had whiskers, paws, and a black tail!

"Oh dear!" McGonagall exclaimed, and she muttered some incantation, there was a flash of blue-white light and I was myself again.

"W – what happened? Does un-morphing usually hurt? Because that did!"

"You seemed to have lost concentration partway through your transformation. And no, un-morphing isn't supposed to hurt, unless it is forced upon you, like it just was."

"Yea, I was just so shocked that something was happening that I forgot what I was doing. Could you figure out what animal I was changing into?"

"Unless there are such things as black lions, then no. I don't think you're a lion, but it definitely seemed like some sort of large cat. Try thinking of different animals."

"Okay…um…let's give it a go…" I let out another breath. _Okay, concentrate. Black and big… hmm, a tiger? Well, they're not exactly black, but it's worth a try… Tiger…tiger…tiger…_ I felt that tingling sensation again, and felt myself to morph. I was almost all the way morphed, but no matter how much more I concentrated, I felt like I couldn't complete the change. I concentrated on changing back and succeeded.

"That was great! What animal are you?"

"I still don't know. The change didn't feel complete. I don't think I'm a tiger."

"Oh," McGonagall said, sounding dispirited, "Well try again. Third time's a charm." I smiled at her and began to concentrate. _What other animal could it be? Panther? I don't know… seems kind of out there… but I'll try it. Panther…panther…panther…_ For the third time, I felt the tingling and started to morph. It felt different than the other times, like I was something completely new. I looked at McGonagall, who had a humongous smile on her face. I changed back to myself, and she had tears of joy in her eyes.

"So? Did I do it right?" I was engulfed in a hug. "Professor!" I said, very shocked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Alina," she said, composing herself, "That was just amazing! And you're so young!"

"Thanks," I said with a warm smile, "So do I have any markings?"

"Um, let me check. Do it again." I did so, and looked into her eyes through my cat ones. "Yes, you have a small white patch of fur in the shape of a crescent moon between your eyes," she said while tracing it, "Alina, you're purring." I stopped and started to explore my new ability. I had a fun time sheathing and unsheathing my claws, and chased my own tail, making my professor laugh. She pulled out an old mirror so I could look at myself, and I was amazed. I traced the small moon in the mirror and then touched it with my paw. I morphed back and was happier than I'd ever been.

"Thank-you so much, Professor. And sorry for purring; it felt good. Now I know how cats feel when they get stroked. I can't believe I'm an Animagus!"

"Yes, well no one can know. But we should tell the Headmaster. Come along."

"Alright. Oh, Professor, did you talk to him about Umbridge?"

"Yes, I did. And he only said to keep an eye on her… Sorry, Alina, you will most likely be bored in DADA now."

"It's alright." We got to the gargoyle leading up to the Headmaster's office. "Fizzing Whizbee," McGonagall said and it leapt aside. We rode the staircase and stopped in front of the door. We knocked and were invited in and I walked into the office. I had never been there before. There was a phoenix and little silver instruments on spindly tables. Portraits of the past headmasters were all over the walls.

"Ah, Minerva, and Miss Taylor. I hope we're not in trouble?" Dumbledore said.

"No, no, no!" I said quickly

"Well, I've taught Alina to be an Animagus. I figured I should've let you know, and to see if it's alright to continue her training."

"Of course, of course. I assume you do not have approval from the Ministry."

"Er…" Professor McGonagall seemed at a loss for words.

"No, sir, I do not. But please, do not report me. You didn't report Sirius, James, and Pettigrew!"

"You are quite right, Miss Taylor. Do not worry, Alina. Your secret is safe with me."

I smiled at my Headmaster, "Thank-you Professor."

"Are you sure you can trust her, Dumbledore?" I heard Phineas Nigellus, my great-great-great-grandfather speaking, thinking, _Shit, shit, shit! We forgot to tell Phineas not to say anything to Dumbledore! I hope he doesn't recognize me!_ "I mean, she is a Slytherin; we're a very sly group."

"Phineas, as always, I appreciate your input, but I believe that I can trust Miss Taylor." Phineas snorted his disagreement and walked out of his portrait, most likely to the one in Grimmauld Place. "Minerva, I'd like a word alone with Miss Taylor."

"Of course, Headmaster. Goodnight." She walked out of the office and I was alone with the Headmaster.

"Alina, please demonstrate your Animagus abilities." I concentrated, and was more nervous than I was with McGonagall, but managed to change. Dumbledore stood from his chair to come examine me. He also traced the crescent moon, but I remembered not to purr; I didn't want to embarrass myself. He sat back down and put his fingertips together. "Feel free to explore my office, in your panther form or as a human." I nodded and started to walk around as a panther, twitching my tail. I walked up to the phoenix and stared at it. I changed back to a human and stroked the bird.

"He's beautiful."

"Thank-you. His name is Fawkes. He's due to die any day now, seeing as he's been looking more and more decrepit each day." No sooner after Dumbledore finished saying this that Fawkes burst into flames. I watched as the flames died down and there was a pile of ash. I unearthed him and set the baby phoenix on top of his ashes. After, I walked around the office some more and paused in front of the Sorting Hat. I took a glance over at Dumbledore, who seemed to be feigning sleep. I picked up the hat and placed it on my head.

"Wondering if I put you in the right house?" it said quietly.

"Yes."

"Look at your lineage. It's full of Slytherins."

"Yes, but my father wasn't!" I whispered.

"Well, who says you can't break tradition in the Slytherin line?"

"Fairly reasoned; thank-you, Hat." I took it off and walked back to the front of the office. "Goodnight, Professor."

"Goodnight, Miss Taylor." I walked out of the office and down to the dungeons. I slipped into the common room, which was empty, and up to bed.

**uR**

I saw Tawny swooping down during breakfast, to deliver a letter. I tore it open after giving her some toast and began to read.

_Princess:_

_It's great that you're an Animagus! What's your form? I hope you're not running around with any werewolves; it's not that fun, trust me. I bet you're not telling the Ministry. Breaking laws at the age of seventeen – I'm proud! About Umbridge, well, just deal with her. I'll try to think of something. In the meantime, help Fred and George to prank her; it's what I'd do. Speaking of George, how are you two? Just wondering._

_-Snuffles_

I smirked as I refolded the letter, ready to kill my dad for talking about George in a letter, but brushed it off, because I had more important things on my mind. Today was the first prank of the year! I finished up breakfast and hurried off to N.E.W.T. Charms. It wasn't as interesting as I hoped it would, since all we did was take notes. After the class was over, it was time for break. I met Fred, Lee, and George outside the DADA classroom. We each got our supply of four dungbombs each, and once the halls were clear, pandemonium ensued. We set them all off at once and fled. Panting next to a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls ballet on the seventh floor, Mrs. Norris found us, eyes glinting. Knowing Filch would come wheezing around a corner any minute, we had to make a plan.

"We can just go back to Gryffindor Tower!" Fred said and turned to walk away.

"Uh, not a Gryffindor!" I reminded him.

"You can go to the library! It's not far from there," Lee said. We set off, laughing maniacally, thinking we'd get away with the prank.

"Alina! Watch the trick step!" Fred called from ahead, followed by Lee, George, and finally me. We were making our way down a staircase that I never use.

"What trick – aah!" I just learned what the trick step was: a step that Vanished once you placed your foot on it, and I had fallen through, one leg caught, the rest of my body desperately flailing. I could just imagine Filch finding me here, and then getting a detention. "George! Help me," I hissed, trying to stay quiet, listening for Filch. Lee and Fred ran on while George came to my rescue. It would've been gallant if 1) we weren't currently fighting, and 2) he hadn't pulled me free from the step so harshly that I could hear a loud crack when my ankle caught the edge. He practically dragged me to an empty corridor where we both sank to the ground against the wall, huffing and puffing.

"I think you broke my ankle…thanks…"

"Well sorry! Do you want to have detention or a broken ankle?" George said.

"Right now, I think I'd take the pain of detention…"

"Let me see it," George said and motioned for me to show him my injured leg. "Yea…it's definitely broken…sorry…"

"Eh, it's alright. Just let me have a free prank on you, and we're even."

"Deal." All of a sudden, we heard the wheezing of Argus Filch, the caretaker coming nearer.

"Shit. We got caught," I said quietly.

"Ha! I found the pranksters! You two are in a load of trouble!"

"Alina didn't do anything!"

"George…" I tried to interrupt him.

"It was all me, Mr. Filch. I set off the dungbombs in the DADA hallway. I just ran into Alina here while I was trying to get away with it," George said.

"Well, I'll have a talk with your Head of House about this, mister. You won't get away with this, you hear?"

"Loud and clear," George said, doing a mock salute. I couldn't help but giggle. Filch shuffled off, muttering about troublemaking teenagers.

"Thanks for getting me out of detention or whatever."

"No problem, Lini."

"You're calling me Lini again," I said with a smile.

"I can't stay mad at you."

"Oh, shut up. I'm sorry for what I did on the train. You had pissed me off, and I wanted revenge. I regretted it the minute it happened, though."

"I regretted what I did too. Well, we are just troublemaking teenagers," he said with a smirk.

I rested my head on his shoulder and said, "I'm really am sorry you always had to see me when I was upset. That must've been pretty sucky."

"That's okay. I got to spend time with you, didn't I?" There was another one of those silences, but I didn't mind it this time.

"Man, this hurts," I said, gesturing to my ankle again.

"Well, I don't know how to make the ankle better, but I think I know how to make you happy. Just don't hit me or anything when I do this…" Thinking he was going to touch my ankle, I relaxed the muscles and tightly shut my eyes to be ready for the pain. But it never came. I felt his lips brush mine and him hesitate, as if he was waiting for permission to continue. He leaned in again, and I let my lips come together with his. We held for a few seconds, and he slowly pulled away, the smallest smile on his face.

"Lini, will you be my girlfriend?"

"I thought you'd never ask," I answered with a laugh as he kissed me again.

**A/N: Well, there you go! They're together, people! Yaaaay! Bet you'd say I can fit A LOT into one chapter. This came out to 17 pages on Word, so I'd agree with you. Favorite and Alert, please!**

**C'mon. Click the button down there and review. vvv You know you want to.**


	5. Sweets, Sports, and Shocks

**Chapter 5**

**A/N: IT'S FINALLY HERE! YAAAAY! This is kind of slow so far, but here it is! :) I've already gotten the ending planned (which is awesome, by the way – I just have to get this stuff written). So, you must suffer! Mwahaha! Just kidding; interesting stuff will happen. For this chapter, a lot of time will pass during the school year. Everything that happens in the book happens in this story; most of it just doesn't affect Alina. Let's go! (And I know that McGonagall and Sirius are a bit OOC, I'm working on it!)**

**Disclaimer: Oh, before I go try and friend Emma Watson on Facebook, all the Harry Potter stuff belongs to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros, and their affiliates. What? You say I can't go find Emma Watson on Facebook because you want the story? Oh, well I guess you could read on; I'm not forcing you.**

We separated from the kiss, our breathing a bit heavy. George sat staring at me, which I have to say was a little creepy. "Uh, you're staring at me…"

"What? Oh! I got lost in your eyes," he responded, and I raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, that's not true…I thought it sounded better than 'I just zoned out; my mind was in prank mode.'"

"George, that's normal coming from you. 'I got lost in your eyes,' really? It made me want to gag."

"Alright…note to self: sweet pickup lines get me nowhere."

"What? You're insane. What do you have next period?"

"I have free periods until after lunch. And you?"

"N.E.W.T. Arithmancy, then N.E.W.T. Herbology – it's a double – and then lunch," I said.

"What? I thought you were only taking six classes!"

"I wanted to continue Arithmancy. I had dropped it, but then decided to do it."

"Only you would do that," he said, pulling me into a hug.

"Hermione would do it too," I said indignantly.

"Yes, only you and Hermione would do that."

"Thanks," I said with a smirk, "Crap…ten minutes to the bell. I have to go get my stuff from behind that suit of armor outside the DADA classroom and then go to Arithmancy. Did we remember to put a charm over my bag so it wouldn't smell like dung?"

"Yea, I saw Lee do it to his and your stuff. I'll walk you there and to class." I stood up, wincing at the pain from my ankle, and started limping in the direction of the DADA hallway. "Here, let me help you," George said and came and supported my right side. We laughed all the way across the school and George picked up my bag from behind the suit of armor. We started walking toward the Arithmancy classroom and the bell rang. Once we reached the hallway, George gave me a kiss goodbye and I felt lots of eyes on us.

"Meet me in the entrance hall?" I said.

"Of course; see you later, Lini." He walked away and I started walking down the hallway, well more shuffling because I was trying not to limp. I still felt a whole lot of stares and heard people whispering to each other. Mostly it was stuff like: "A Slytherin and a Gryffindor? Not possible." "What the hell has this world come to?" "Geez, this school has really gone to the dogs." I ignored them and went to class. After an hour, I went to the entrance hall and met George by the great oak front doors.

"Hey," he said, taking my hand, "How was Arithmancy?"

"Boring…all we did was review…"

"Well, I'm sure it will get more…interesting?" I rolled my eyes and we started making our way down to the greenhouses. "Where do you want to meet?"

"I guess under the big tree near the lake."

"Alright…hmm, what will I do for two hours?"

"You can borrow my book," I said with a smile and searched through my bag. I withdrew a battered book and handed it to George.

"Um, _Jane Eyre_?"

"Yea, it's a classic! It's a dramatic romance. You'll enjoy it. It's one of my favorite books."

"I'll try it," he said and we were right next to the greenhouses. He gave me kiss on the head and a side hug and walked off toward the tree. I walked into greenhouse three and faced a two hour class. After dealing with Devil's Snare, I was ready to never touch another magical plant again. I found George avidly reading the book I lent him.

"Hey," I said as I plopped down next to him, "How's the book? What part are you at?"

"Jane is about to leave Lowood," he said absentmindedly.

"Are you liking it?" I asked, trying to get a look at the page he was currently reading. All I got was a grunt, and I had to assume that was a yes. I pulled out some Arithmancy homework and began. I finished it a little while later and pulled out yet more homework: I had to do an essay on Devil's Snare for Herbology. I was about halfway through it when George stopped to stretch and read over my shoulder.

"I just read the first sentence of that essay, and I don't know what half of those words mean," he said with a laugh.

"Maybe you should read more…it improves your vocabulary."

With a smirk, he put an arm around me and asked, "What the heck is with Grace Poole? She seems like a psycho…" I had to think about what he was speaking of, and then remembered the book he was reading.

"Not telling," I said with a sly smile, "It'll ruin the surprise."

"C'mon…tell me…please?" George asked with almost irresistible puppy dog eyes.

"Down, puppy. That doesn't work on me. And I'm telling you, it's the kind of surprise that ruins the whole book if you find out now."

"Fine," he said, sounded defeated, "Oh, speaking of surprises, I have a gift for you!"

"A present? Yay!" George laughed and he looked at me with a really sad expression. "What's wrong?"

"I left it in my dorm…actually, I don't really know where it is…I'm sorry, Lini."

"It's alright! I don't need a present," I said with a smile. George still looked upset. "It's fine, really."

"But I was really excited to give it to you! I'm going to go check my dorm! Stay here; I'll be right back."

"Um…okay?" He stood and starting jogging toward the castle. "Man, he has _horrible_ form…his butt looks nice, though." I smirked to myself and remembered that I was supposed to write my father back.

_Snuffles:_

_Well, my form is a black panther – with a white star between my eyes. Yea, I know, that's pretty distinguishable, but there probably aren't that many panther Animagi. And I'm not running around with werewolves. The only two I know are either twenty years older than me, or they probably want to kill me._

I smiled when I wrote that. I don't think Lupin is going to come hang around Hogwarts any time soon, and Fenrir can't get to me when Dumbledore's around. I gazed around the grounds and continued writing.

_Fred, George, Lee Jordan and I have already pranked Umbridge. It was loads of fun – dungbombs in the DADA hallway: priceless. Fred and Lee got away, but George and I got caught while running from Filch. See, my foot got caught in that trick step on the way to the Gryffindor tower. As I'm a Slytherin – screw them – I didn't know about it. George helped me out and broke my ankle in the process, and then Filch found us in a deserted hallway._

I paused, welcoming the inevitable – the lines I know he really is reading the letter for.

_Well, after that, we began dating. I can see you smirking now. He seems really happy and right now is ransacking his dorm trying to find some present he got for me. I had him start reading _Jane Eyre_ – it's one of my favorite books. Oh, would you mind sending me the copy of _The Princess Bride_ that's in my room? I forgot to pack it, and can't bear without it. You always read it to me, and I sort of need it – it's a security thing._

_Hugs,  
>Princess<em>

I tucked the note into my bag and continued writing my essay. In the middle of a paragraph, George came back grinning like a little kid on Christmas morning. He sat down and thrust a horridly wrapped package at me.

"Well, this is…interestedly wrapped," I said smiling. He laughed and I tore through the paper, withdrawing a stuffed dog. "Aw! He's adorable!"

"You really like him?"

"Of course I do," I said and gave both the dog and George a kiss on the nose. "When did you find time to buy him?"

"I didn't…I uh…made him…"

"That's so sweet! Thank you George!"

"No problem…what's its name?"

"I shall call him Buddy and he shall be mine and he shall be my Buddy!"

"Well, I'm glad you like him," George said laughing. I sat, playing – well basically making him dance – with Buddy, and George watched.

"Aw, Buddy. I think George is jealous. You're getting all of the attention!" I smiled and put Buddy on George's head. I felt like a little kid again, and well, that was a nice feeling. "Nice hat, George." He laughed, put Buddy in my lap, and wrapped his arms around me.

"Well, you're _mine_. I shall call you Lini, and you shall be mine, and you shall be my Lini," he seductively said before engulfing my lips in his own.

"Ugh…snog fest…" We continued, not caring about the comment from Fred that came out of nowhere.

"Seriously, will you guys stop?" Ron asked, sounding annoyed. This just encouraged George to kiss me even harder. A moan almost escaped my lips, at which point I decided that we should stop. I slowly backed away, taking in slow, deep breaths. George was smiling again after we broke apart. The three other Weasley children, Harry, and Hermione were all standing next to us.

"Finally. You guys missed lunch. We thought you went off and were never coming back," Fred said. I rolled my eyes, gaining a triumphant smirk from him.

"Uh, Alina? What's that in your lap?" Ginny asked, attempting to stifle her giggles.

"Yea…is that a – a stuffed dog?" Hermione managed to say before she and Ginny burst out giggling.

"Yes," I said angrily, "He is. George gave Buddy to me."

"Seriously? He's your little Buddy?" Ron said while practically rolling on the ground. I felt George tense next to me.

"Stop, or you'll all wake up with blisters in...places," my redhead growled. Everyone minus Harry was laughing, and he looked confused as to where those blisters would be. _Jeez, how naïve can one kid be? _I shot a few non-verbal spells in the group's direction, causing their tongues to be tied.

"Now, do you guys have to stay like that or will you be good?" I said, laughing. I un-tied their tongues, and they all sat down around us.

"Well, George, it was a sweet gift," Hermione said.

"Yea," I said, "It's cute, just," I tapped George's chest, "like," I tapped his chin, "him," I finished by tapping his nose.

"Oh, dear God, you guys are sickeningly sweet," Fred said and made fake choking noises. We all turned his way, with astonished faces.

"Um, did you EVER see you and Angelina? You guys were about a hundred times worse!" Ginny scoffed.

"Yea, Mr. Snuggybear," George laughed.

"I told you never to tell anyone that!"

"Jeez Fred, calm down. I think I'll call George my Ginger Beast," I said with a smile, to which George's jaw dropped. The rest of the group with rolling around with laughter, while the Twins looked mortified.

"I can never show my face in public again," Fred mumbled.

"Me neither," George agreed.

"What a waste of –"

"- supermegafoxyawesomehot-ness." I laughed at them; they were finally acting like the twins I knew again. The others sat up, having recovered from their laughing fits.

"Well, I'll see you guys later! I have Muggle Studies in a few minutes," Hermione said, and she and Ginny started walking toward the castle. Harry and Ron left accordingly, and that left the Twins and I.

"So what class do you guys have now?" I asked casually.

"Oh geez….We have Potions –"

" – with the overlord of Greasy Hair Land." I laughed again, and said that I have the afternoon to myself.

"Alina, you should decide the next prank," Fred said.

"I was thinking…"

"Well, we both –"

" – love when you do that."

"To annoy Umbridge, we could put nifflers in her office."

"That is –"

" – amazing, Lini."

"I think Lee said he had a free period now, so I'll go find him and start planning. What do you want to do afterwards?"

"Well, err…Angelina wanted to hang..."

"Well, that leaves Lini, me, and Lee. I'm sure we can find _something_ to do… I mean, we're at Hogwarts of all places; the possibilities are endless."

"Right, well, George – "

" – we better get off to torture." I smirked, and started humming the Darth Vader tune, to which I yet again received odd glances.

"Oh…that's a Muggle thing…Never mind!" I said dreamily. They also trudged toward the castle and I finished up my homework. As I was walking up to the Owlery to send off my letter with Tawny, I saw Lee walking outside with two first years, both holding pieces Nosebleed Nougat. They swallowed the sweets and Lee helped to shove the antidotes down their throats to quell the bleeding. We really need to work on being able to give yourself the antidote…I started laughing at the kids, and they joined in, probably in intimidation. Lee cleaned them up with a quick flick of his wand and they went on their way, their pockets each a galleon heavier.

"Kids will do anything to get money," I commented casually.

"Damn straight. That pair has been the main test subjects for our sweets. They're probably up ten galleons by now!" Lee said angrily.

"So, we've decided on the next prank, but we need to get our hands on some nifflers…"

"Really? Lay it on me."

"We're just going to put them in the toad's office; it'll probably really piss her off."

"Great plan, Alina. I'll go and see if I can nick a niffler or two off of Hagrid. C'ya!" He walked away and I started my stroll, well, it kind of looked like a funky swagger because I was trying to conceal my limp. I made a note to myself to go see Madame Pomfrey. I finally made it up to the Owlery to find it deserted. Tawny affectionately nibbled my fingers before flying off to Grimmauld Place. I stared after her into the bright sky and didn't even notice that Harry was at my side until the sun was making its way toward the horizon.

"Hey," he said quietly.

"Hi…"

"I know."

"What?"

"I know Sirius is your dad."

"How – how did – why didn't he – ah, screw it!" Harry smiled at my stuttering and slowly answered.

"He felt I had the right to know. He told me that he told you, but I just wanted to make sure that you knew that he told me about you and him so –"

"Harry, you talk too much."

"Sorry…"

"It's okay," I said, lightly punching him in the arm. "Everything's going to change now, isn't it? I mean, Voldemort's back, and stuff is already happening. We're going to have a war on our hands soon." Harry didn't respond, but kept staring into the setting sun. "Please tell me you know what you're facing."

He nodded, "Don't worry." I rested my hand on his shoulder before I walked down to the Great Hall for dinner. I sat down for another miserable meal with the Slytherins, but it was slightly improved by the constant chatter of Iris and Cal to my one side and sneaking looks at George, having a contest over who could last longer without bursting out laughing at the most ridiculous faces we were making. I, of course, won (though George says I lost). After the meal, George and I met in the Entrance Hall after being buffeted by the huge oncoming crowd. We made it into a secluded corner, still arguing over who won the game.

"I so won," George said, smirking.

"Whatever keeps you going each day," I said with finality. "Listen, George. I meet with McGonagall now every night right after dinner. I'm currently late, but I don't really care." George raised his eyebrows. "I caught her eye as we walked off together, and she gave me a look of understanding. You don't have to worry your little sexy head about me," I finished, running a hand through his hair.

"Okay, okay. I've noticed you're ankle is still broken. We can't have you try out for Quidditch like that. C'mon, let's go see Madame Pomfrey." He took my hand and we walked off to the Hospital Wing. He then walked me to McGonagall's room and departed for his common room. After an hour and a half of transforming, I said goodbye to my professor and walked down to the dungeons, ready to get into my nice, warm feather bed.

The next week and a half passed until it was the following Saturday, meaning it was time for Quidditch tryouts. My father responded to my letter with the usual father worries, which I ignored and asked him to have Mrs. Weasley pick up a broom for me in Diagon Alley. I had asked for a simple Cleansweep 7, but of course, he paid for a Firebolt. So, on Saturday at eleven, I made my way down to the pitch with my new broom and got some spare robes from the back of the locker room. I slowly trudged out to the center of the pitch where the Slytherin captain and multiple other hopefuls were waiting to show their skills. I made it to the small group and the tension between us was almost tangible.

"Okay, shut up!" the captain voice boomed out over the stadium – don't ask me his name. I knew he was in my year, but since I don't care for the Slytherins, I had no idea who he was. The tittering group of younger students quieted down and the captain continued his rant. "So you all have the audacity to try out for the Slytherin Quidditch Team." His eyes moved over the crowd silently and a first year attempted to stifle a giggle. He sighed, "Let's get this over with…Alright, wannabe Beaters get over there, Seekers there, Chasers there, and Keepers divide and go to the goal posts."

We all followed his instructions, me walking to the northwestern corner of the pitch with Draco Malfoy and two other younger kids. The Seekers were to be tested last, so we watched the horrible proceedings until the best of the worst were chosen. Most of the younger kids were on old school brooms, so they were outstripped by passing butterflies and couldn't do much to help their chances. Eventually, the captain chose his fellow Beater, another burly sixth year. There were the same three Chasers as last year, along with the same Keeper.

Finally, it was time to test the Seekers. We were told that we would have three chances to catch the Snitch, and we would be based upon the time we used, and how efficiently we captured it. I was happy that not many people turned up to watch when I heard the distinct laughter of a certain redhead that was followed by several other laughs. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Fred, and George piled into the Gryffindor section of the stands. _Great, they arrive just in time to see me make a complete and utter ass of myself_, I thought. Draco caught sight of them and started yelling.

"Hey, Gryffindorks! Get off the pitch! It's Slytherin's!"

"Oh shove it, Malfoy! We're here to support Alina! She's just as Gryffindor as us!" Harry yelled, causing me to blush slightly. I saw Malfoy open his mouth to retaliate, but he stopped the second I smacked him upside the head. This made my friends howl with laughter and led Fred to scream, "Oi, Malfoy! Why don't you stick _that_ in your juice box and SUCK IT?" At this point, I was laughing so hard that tears were threatening to come out of my eyes. The captain finally realized what was going on and told the Gryffindors to shut up or leave, so they settled down and watched my competition.

Well, competition is a lightly used term.

The first kid was a second year was on a school looked like he had never flown a broom. After forty-five minutes, he had finally caught the snitch once. The next wannabe was a fourth year that was also on a school broom, but at least had more skills than his predecessor. He caught his first two snitches in a reasonable amount of time, but, being on a school broom, had no idea that those ruddy brooms accelerated at random moments. He was about to make a capture down near the south goalposts when his broom surged forward, causing him to be clotheslined by one of the hoops. There was a resounding "Oooh" throughout the stadium as the Keeper that was hovering there caught him and took him off to see Madame Pomfrey. My only true competition was Draco, and he was still flying on a Nimbus 2001. He made one spectacular save and the others looked pretty simple. I could see him with his trademark smirk handing the struggling ball back to the captain.

Finally, it was my turn. The captain released the ball and I watched it disappear into the sunlight. I kicked off the ground and shot up high above the stadium, squinting around for a golden glint. Quickly, I saw it fluttering near my friends in the stands. Ready to see what a Firebolt could really do, I kicked it into high gear, zooming towards them. I could feel the wind rushing through my hair, the sun on my back, and noticed the little effort I had to use to control my new broom. Right before I smashed into the Gryffindors, I grabbed the fluttering snitch and zoomed skyward, looped, and gracefully headed back toward the ground where I handed the ball back to the captain. I could hear my friends hollering, and saw Draco's infamous smirk slide off of his face.

My next save was nothing special – I just pulled out of a sharp dive and captured the struggling ball with my fingertips. I once again returned the ball to the captain and set myself up on my Firebolt. The Snitch disappeared into the sunlight again for a while and appeared at the opposite end of the pitch near the goal posts. I zoomed after it, matching its sharp turns and flying in its slipstream. I chased it for a while and finally was almost close enough to catch it. I threw my arm out to grasp it, but it decided to turn at the last second. Without thinking, I leapt from the broom after the snitch and got it in my hand – then I realized I was about three hundred feet up.

_Shit shit shit. FUCK._

I was falling, not knowing what to do, waiting to break into a million pieces when I hit the ground. It was getting closer and closer, and I have no idea if I was screaming, but I heard some, and then came in contact with something squishy.

I looked up to see George, sitting on a broom, flying me to the ground. We landed, and I staggered off and noticed that amazingly, I still had the snitch in my hand. I saw the Gryffindors running onto the pitch, ignoring the captain's previous warnings. The whole Slytherin team was sneering, while the Gryffindors looked like they had seen ghosts. Before any of the scarlet-clad students could get any words out, the captain started yelling.

"HEY! We have a new Seeker, Amelia, or whatever her name is. Malfoy, you're second-string. Let's get out of here; the filth just arrived on the field." As he finished, the Slytherins walked away and I was surrounded by the same old six Gryffindors.

"Oh my God! Are you okay, Alina?" Hermione and Ginny asked. Ron, Harry, and Fred all had the same responses. I cracked a small smile and nodded a bit nervously.

"Thanks to George, I am," I said and he wrapped an arm around me. "How'd you even get to me in time?"

"I saw you reaching out, and grabbed a broom from a second year…I'm surprised that it went that fast, being a school broom." He finished the sentence as the broom started shaking violently and sparking. "Woah!" It stopped, and then crumbled to ash.

"Well, that broom was –" Fred began.

" – on its last straw," George finished. I rolled my eyes and walked to the locker room to get changed and noticed that George was following.

"Uh, babe? Where are you going?"

"Not awkwardly following you to the locker room?" he responded, blushing. He backed away back to his House mates, after I told him that I'd meet him later.

I was in the shower for a while. I kept getting sidetracked and realized that I had only half washed my hair when the water started getting cold. I finished up quickly and started making my way up to the castle after I put my broom away. I trudged up to the library where I started to look for information on Animagi. I was reading a particularly dry book while sitting at the back of the library and it was so calm that I decided to close my eyes, just for a second…

"_Princess, it's time for dinner. Wake up; c'mon sleepy head, it's your favorite," a soft male voice crooned while shaking my arm._

"_Daddy, no…Let me sleep…" I turned my head the other way and buried myself in my hair._

"Lini, I'm not your dad," George said with a small and nervous laugh.

"Whazzgoinon?" I asked while sitting up, semi-alert.

"You're missing dinner," he answered.

"Oh my God, how long have I been out?"

"Since noon-ish."

"WHAT?"

"Lini, calm down. It's not like you have any homework you haven't done. Oh, by the way, Tawny returned with a letter," George replied, handing me a piece of folded parchment. I pocketed it and we walked down to the Great Hall together, once again hand-in-hand. I said goodbye and walked off to the Slytherin table to sit with Cal and Iris. To my surprise and disappointment, Graham Montague sat down shortly after I did, separating me from Cal.

"Oh, hi, Alina! I didn't notice you sitting there. How are you?" he asked, but I could sense a bit of malice in his voice. I looked over to the Gryffindors, specifically at George. He, Fred, Lee, Ron, and Harry were all viciously attacking their food, staring at Montague. I gave them a look saying to not cause any problems, but I couldn't really stop them; they're a bunch of feisty little lions. I ignored Graham's many attempts to start a conversation, strongly resisting the urge to slap him. After the meal was finished, George walked me to McGonagall's room, and I had a tiring night of transforming. At about 11:00, I trudged my way down to the dungeons and collapsed on my bed, reading the letter from my father.

_Princess-_

_When I saw in your last letter that you and George were dating, well I squealed like a little girl – literally; you can ask Molly. She came in and asked if I had accidentally hit my…something... Anyway, a panther form is unusual. I don't quite understand why it isn't a lion cub if that's your Patronus, but that might just be because of the constant evil environment that you're stuck in. I hope classes are going well and that you can bother Umbridge as much as possible. You might've already learned this, but I told Harry that you're my daughter. And by the way, Harry's trying to organize some group to fight Umbridge, and you better join and help._

_Love,_

_Snuffles_

_P.S.: I'm trying to find the _Princess Bride_ book, but YOUR ROOM IS A DISASTER AREA. COME FIND IT YOURSELF. Witherwings says hi._

I laughed and put the letter in my nightstand, drifting off to sleep, glad that it was a Saturday…

**uR**

"George, you're flourishing your wand too much. It's more of a jab," I said. I was at the last D.A. meeting before the Christmas holidays. Harry had decided to reinforce Patronuses, and since my father had made me master them, I was helping out in instructing. George tried again, but was still making a mistake. I grabbed his wrist and helped him make the movement correctly, earning a resounding "ooh" from the other students. We smirked at each other, and shouted in unison, "_Expecto Patronum!"_

A silver lion cub chased his fox around the room, both of the silver specters play-fighting. They darted all around, running into other Patronuses, both corporeal and just in the shield form. George and I after a while let the flow of magic ebb and the guardians dissipated. We were met by applause from the group and everyone else tried to match our demonstration. It was odd – I didn't feel like an outcast for once among the other Houses. There had always been the few that accepted me, and most everyone else tolerated me, but now, now I was part of something. And this something would help Wizarding Society.

**uR**

I was alone in the Slytherin common room, seeing as the few that actually stayed for the holidays had snuck out of the dorms and went off to make out in that special broom cupboard on the fourth floor or were asleep.

My father had finally found my copy of _The Princess Bride_ in my apparent disaster area of a room and sent it to me. I was currently on one of the couches reading it. I was at one of my favorite parts – the iocane scenario. It was a battle of wits to the death, literally, and I always loved how Vizzini was too smart for his own good. I paused and stared into the depths of the emerald flames, wishing I could be up with George in the Gryffindor Tower, not in this dank dungeon. I snuggled into my fuzzy blanket more with Buddy at my side and my book in my hands, and started dozing off…

"Miss Taylor, wake up!"

"What? Huh?" I was shocked to see Snape in the common room at 4 a.m., especially looking for me. My blanket had slipped off in my sudden awakening, exposing my extremely short shorts and my also extremely tight camisole that had a really low-cut neck. I then realized that I was giving my Potions Master an eyeful. "Holy shit, Sn – I mean, Professor! Why are you here?" I tried to grab the blanket back but it oh-so-conveniently got stuck under Snape's foot and he didn't _seem _to notice.

"Your presence is wanted immediately in the Headmaster's office."

"Um, let me grab a robe or something…" I said and tried to walk around the couch, but knowing me, I tripped over **something**_**.**_ Two hands caught me by the waist and pulled me up and sort of close.

"No, you're wanted _now_."

"O – Okay," I said tentatively. _Fucking creeper!_ We started walking to Dumbledore's office in an awkward silence, the clattering of his shoes loud in the corridors compared to the soft padding of my bare feet. The stone gargoyle leapt aside at the mention of Acid Pops and we stood, me staring at the moving staircase, Snape at what I'm pretty was my ass. _Again, I reiterate, CREEPER._

"Goodnight, Miss Taylor," he said before walking off and cracking a small smile. I ascended the staircase and knocked on the heavy door. After I heard a calm "Enter," I walked into the office and was greeted by all of the Weasley students, Harry, McGonagall, and Dumbledore. I was engulfed by a hug from George, who was shaking slightly. I peeled myself away and looked straight at Harry.

"What happened?"

"Mr. Weasley has been attacked by a snake…at the Ministry," Harry answered.

"No! Is he okay?"

"We he will be if he's found by the right people," Dumbledore said quietly.

"Well that's a pretty big 'if,' isn't it?" Ron said slowly.

**A/N: So? Watcha guys think? Still love me? R&R please! It's love and I'll give you Deathly Hallow-themed cookies if you review!**


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